Going Solo
by The Mediocre Papyrus
Summary: It was just a normal day for Solo, Rocket and Groot. Pick up some a-hole, sell him to whoever wanted him, and all would be well. But then some green chick attacked them, they ended up in jail, and now they're trying to stop an insane fanatic from destroying the Galaxy. And all because of a freakin' orb.
1. Prologue

_**Hello! Thanks for choosing to give my story the time of day. I hope you won't be disappointed. Anyway, this fanfic fo**__**llows the canon of the movie, except with my OC added in. I'll probably make a few changes and add a few things along the way. If you have any constructive criticism, feel free to share it with me.**_

* * *

"YOU IDIOT!" Rocket hollered at Groot as they exited the wreckage of their ship. "I let you take charge of the ship for ONE MINUTE while I use the john, and you CRASH IT INTO THE WRONG FREAKIN' PLANET!"

"I am Groot!" said Groot apologetically, raising his arms.

"I don't care if it was an accident, we're still stuck on a fuckin' dead planet with no means of gettin' off!" said Rocket as he examined the wrecked ship. "Look at this! Do you know how long it's gonna take me to put this damn thing back together?"

"I am Groot," said Groot. Rocket sighed in exasperation. "It was a rhetorical question, Groot."

Suddenly, there was a yell from behind them.

"HALT!"

They both turned around in surprise. Standing there was a purple-skinned girl of maybe thirteen or fourteen. Her blue-black hair was cut short and spiky and her eyes were a bright and eerie green. She wore a black jacket, a red shirt and jeans, all of which were torn and filthy. She was barefoot. She was also holding a bow and an electric-looking blue arrow, which was pointed right at them. There was a quiver on her back, containing more of the blue arrows, and some pink ones as well.

"State your names!" the girl yelled at them, as she pulled the string of her strange-looking bow back even further.

"Look, look, easy, kid!" said Rocket, holding up his hands in surrender. "My name is Rocket."

"I am Groot," said Groot.

The girl narrowed her eyes. "Why are you here, Rocket and Groot?" she asked suspiciously.

"We weren't gonna attack you, if that's what you're thinkin'," said Rocket. "We were on our way to Xandar, and genius here decided to go completely the wrong way and crash us here."

The girl lowered her bow slightly as her eyes flicked towards the wrecked ship.

"You will not be able to repair that ship," she said. "It is too badly damaged."

"Oh, yeah?" said Rocket sarcastically. "And how would you know anything about ships, toots?"

"My father used to create spaceships," said the girl. "Come, Rocket and Groot. I may know a way for you to reach your destination. Bring your tools, if you have any."

Rocket raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah, sure. Like we're just gonna automatically trust the weird girl who's still pointing A FREAKIN' ARROW AT US!"

The girl paused momentarily, then put the arrow back into her quiver and lowered the bow. "There," she said. "Now I am no longer pointing an arrow at you. Will you and Groot come with me now?"

"Uh ... Hold that thought," said Rocket as he pulled Groot down into a huddle. "What do you think, Groot?"

"I am Groot," said Groot.

"Yeah, I know that if she's tellin' the truth, it's our only chance of escaping, but what if she's lyin'? I mean, five seconds ago she was trying to kill us!"

"I am Groot!" said Groot, folding his arms. Rocket sighed in exasperation, tugging at his fur.

"Alright, alright! If you're goin', then I'm goin' as well."

"Have you made your decision, Rocket and Groot?" the girl called.

"Yeah, yeah, we've made our decision!" Rocket replied as Groot pulled their tools and some of their stuff out of the ship. "Let's go, Groot."

The girl grinned. "Excellent," she said. "Follow me!"

And with that, she turned around and began to walk, Groot and Rocket beside her.

"So, kid," said Rocket, glancing at the girl. "I never did get your name."

"My name is Solo," replied the girl.

At this, Rocket began to laugh. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

Solo frowned at him. "Why do you laugh, Rocket?" she asked.

"Your name is seriously "Solo"?!" laughed Rocket. "Solo's not a name! It's just a random word! It's like your parents just opened a dictionary and picked the first word they saw!"

She scowled. "Rocket is hardly better," she muttered.

"Hey, at least Rocket sounds cool!" said Rocket. "Solo ... That's just pretty goddamn weird!"

"Do you want me to help you get off of this forsaken planet or not?!" Solo snapped as she stopped walking and folded her arms huffily.

Rocket sighed. "Look, Solo, I'm sorry. OK? Now I don't say that often, so don't make me say it again."

"I am Groot," Groot chimed in.

"Why are you apologisin'?" Rocket asked him. "You didn't even do nothin'!"

Solo turned to them and managed a weak smile. "It is fine," she said. "You are actually quite right, my name is rather strange. However, that is probably what you should expect when your mother is called "Water" and your father "Mahogany"."

Rocket choked out a laugh, and Groot made a noise deep in his throat that could have been a chuckle. "You're kiddin' me," said Rocket through his laughter.

Solo grinned at them. "Rest assured, Rocket, I am quite serious."

They walked along for a while longer.

"So, Solo," said Rocket to Solo as they walked, "What exactly are you bringin' us to?"

"Well, when I first arrived on this planet, I was in dire need of shelter," replied Solo. "And as such, I had to walk until I could find that shelter. Eventually, I came across an old bunker, that had several abandoned ships in it. They must have been left behind when the citizens evacuated because of the Greenpox epidemic."

Rocket shuddered at this - his friend Clanker had been killed in the Greenpox epidemic a couple years back. It was ugly.

"Anyway, I attempted to repair one of the ships when I first found them. However, I did not have the correct tools to do so," Solo continued. "You, on the other hand, do."

She then held out her arm to stop them. "Halt," she said. "We are here."

They stood in front of a huge stone bunker with no door, just an open gap. Inside, Rocket could see several large, broken down old spaceships, of all different makes.

"Woah ... " said Rocket as he stepped inside the bunker. "Groot, how much do you think we could make from selling these?"

"I am Groot!" said Groot sternly.

"It ain't stealin', idiot," Rocket said, rolling his eyes, as he examined the nearest spaceship. "Nobody owns these things anymore!"

"I would recommend fixing this one," said Solo as she pointed to the ship Rocket was examining. "It is both the largest and the least badly damaged."

"Alrighty, then, let's see what's up with this bad boy," said Rocet as he hopped onto the hood of the ship with the tools Groot had brought. He popped the hood and looked inside, then inhaled sharply. "See, here's your problem." He pulled a large, furry something out by its tail. "Whole family of dead mutant rats livin' in here." He chucked the rat over his shoulder in disgust, before picking up some more tools and getting to work.

"I am Groot," said Groot to Solo. She frowned at him. "I am aware of that, Groot," she said. "You have told me many times."

"I am Groot!" said Groot, lifting his hands slightly in frustration.

"I KNOW THAT YOU ARE GROOT!" Solo exclaimed, losing patience. "Rocket, why does your companion insist on telling me his name repeatedly?"

"Well, his ligualistics ain't as good as you's or mine's, so his lingwilistics is limited to 'I' and 'Am' and 'Groot'," said Rocket, pulling more dead rats out of the engine. "Exclusively in that order. Anywho, I think we're done here."

"I shall start the engine to make sure," said Solo as she went into the ship. She sat down in front of the control board, pulled a lever hanging down by her head and pressed the large green button on the board. The ship then juddered to life.

Solo beamed, a large grin taking up her face. "It works!" she crowed to Groot and Rocket as they climbed into the ship. She ran to Rocket and threw her arms around him, crushing him in a huge hug. "Now I can finally escape this horrible planet!" she cheered as she hugged him even tighter. "Thank you so much, Rocket, my dear friend!"

"Uh, you're welcome!" Rocket strained. "And we're grateful you helped us! But you're cutting off the oxygen to my brain, so ... "

"My apologies," said Solo as she abruptly dropped him. She hugged Groot as well. "Thank you as well, Groot ... For everything."

"I am Groot," Groot replied with a smile, giving her a fond pat on the head.

"Shall we depart?" Solo said to Rocket, who was in the driver's seat.

"You don't have to ask me twice," said Rocket as he took the wheel and the ship lifted off the ground.

* * *

Once the ship got off the planet and headed towards Xandar, Solo became quiet. She simply stared at her feet and didn't speak unless spoken to.

"You all right, kid?" Rocket asked her. She looked up at him, startled.

"I am all right," she said. "I was just ... thinking. I was stuck on that planet for so long, with nobody else there with me ... this feels a little strange."

"I am Groot?" said Groot.

"He says, 'How long were you there for?'" Rocket translated.

Solo sighed. "A little over a year," she said.

Rocket swore. "Fuck, that's a long time." he said. "How did you get there? Where are your parents?"

She stared out the window, a scowl on her face. "I am a Ralaarian," she said by way of answering.

"Oh," said Rocket in understanding. About a year ago, Thanos had taken over the small planet Ralaaria. The citizens had either been enslaved or killed. Rocket had presumed there were no survivors. "I'm sorry."

"My mother was killed by a minion of Thanos," said Solo. "I do not know what became of my father and my elder sister. We were planning on escaping in a pod when Thanos invaded, but his minions arrived at our house before we could all get on the ship. There was only time to save me." Her voice cracked. "The ship was supposed to be sent to Xandar, but it flew into space debris and was knocked off course. I landed on that other planet instead. So I lived there, hunting the animals that remained, sleeping in this ship, and trying to get off." She turned back to them, and now there was a small smile on her face. "And now I have. Thanks to you two."

"Look, if you're gonna hug me again, save it for when we get to Xandar," groaned Rocket. "Speaking of which ... "

He lowered the ship onto Xandar.

"It is quite beautiful," said Solo as she glanced out the window, marvelling at the sight. "I have never been here before."

"Yeah, it's just gorgeous," said Rocket as he went towards the door, Groot following him. "Once, of course, you get past all the snobs, weirdos, and assholes that live here."

"I am Groot," said Groot.

"Yes, they're stupid, too," said Rocket.

Solo gave a small sigh as she watched her new friends leave; they were the first people she'd met since she had gotten stuck on that planet, and already she would have to say goodbye to them. "Well, goodbye, Rocket and Groot," she said to them. "Good luck in your endeavours."

"I am Groot?" said Groot.

"He says, 'Where are you gonna go?'" Rocket translated. "I was wonderin' that too, s'matter of fact."

Solo shrugged. "I do not know," she said. "I suppose I shall just fly around space, looking for somewhere to stay ... I will be fine. Do not worry about me, Rocket and Groot."

"Uh ... " said Rocket, before Groot grabbed him and pulled him into a huddle.

"I am Groot!" said Groot.

"Are you kiddin'?!" exclaimed Rocket. "Let her join us? Groot, she's only, what ... Twelve? Thirteen? It's a rough business, what we do. She'd get killed!"

"I am Groot!" said Groot, glaring at Rocket.

"Yes, I know that we can't just leave her alone, and that she's the only friend we've ever had, but - "

Groot glared at him even more.

"I. Am. Groot." he said, folding his arms firmly.

Rocket tugged at his fur in frustration, then sighed, and adressed Groot again. "Ah, what the Hell," he said. "We always could use a chick in the group. Hey, Solo!"

Solo glanced up at him. "Yes, Rocket?" she asked.

"I was just wonderin', if you'd, uh, ever considered joining a bounty-hunting business alongside a walking tree and whatever the Hell I'm supposed to be?"

Solo's jaw dropped. "Y - you mean it?"

"To the bottom of my dirty, black heart," said Rocket with a smile.

For the second time that day, Rocket and Groot found themselves pinned into a vise-like hug.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed. "Thank you so much!"

Rocket laughed sheepishly, patting the teenager on the back.

"You're more than welcome, kid," he said. "But there is one condition."

"What is this condition?" Solo asked.

"You must learn to stop speaking like you have a large plank rammed up your rectum," said Rocket, mimicking Solo's voice. She scowled at him.

"Fuck up," she said, much to Rocket's surprise.

"Whadda ya know, Groot," said Rocket to Groot. "She's becomin' one of us already."


	2. Now We're In Trouble

**_Thank you to those of you who have read the story so far. I hope this next chapter passes muster. Anywho, this chapter begins at the point where Rocket and Groot are first introduced in the movie. Also, it will mostly be from Solo's point of view from now on, though I may switch from time to time. Enjoy it!_**

* * *

**_Ten years later ..._**

* * *

"Solo! Get the Hell up already!"

I groaned as I rolled over in bed, pressing my face into my pillow. "Go away," I muttered at Rocket, making a shooing motion at him. "I'm asleep."

"For God's sake, Solo, it's eleven o'clock already! We have work to do today! Now get your ass out of bed and get dressed!"

"I am Groot!" Groot chimed in.

"She is lazy!" agreed Rocket.

Groaning, I lifted my head off the pillow and reluctantly swung my legs out from under the covers. Rocket was standing beside my bed, holding one of his guns, while Groot sat watching from the other side of the ship. I raised my eyebrows at the gun clutched in Rocket's hands.

"Really?" I asked him. "You were gonna _shoot_ me if I didn't get out of bed?"

"Shoot ya? No," said Rocket as I grabbed my clothes from under my bed and walked towards the bathroom. "Pistol whip ya? Maybe a little ... "

I turned and flipped him the bird as I entered the bathroom. In response, he flipped me the double bird. Groot laughed in confusion, not knowing what the symbols meant. Rolling my eyes, I closed the door on my two best friends and proceeded to get dressed.

I put on my dark blue vest top that had a secret pocket containing a small dagger, my black pants with gun holsters in the thighs, my black boots (they had one of Rocket's taser things in one ankle and another dagger in the other) and my long black jacket. No, it doesn't contain any awesome kickass weapons or anything. I just thought it looked cool, and it was only ten units. Like I'm gonna pass up a bargain like that! Once I was finished dressing, I brushed my teeth and exited the bathroom.

"So," I said to the boys as I picked up my bow and my quiver of arrows and slung them across my back, "What's on the agenda today? Anyone specific we gotta catch?"

"I am Groot," Groot replied. I groaned. "We gotta hunt for them ourselves AGAIN?!" I hate having to go seek out criminals ourselves; more often than not, we get caught and arrested when we do that. True, we do always bust out after a few hours, but even so, you can only get arrested so many times before it begins to grate on the nerves.

"Well, toots," said Rocket as he gathered up his scanner and a few weapons for himself, "That's what happens in this business. You don't like it? You can always stay here and get left out of the action ... _and _the money."

I let out a laugh. "Yeah, right," I snorted. "Like I'll ever let that happen. You know me, guys; I like the action almost as much as I like gettin' paid."

Rocket chuckled. "You and me both, sweetheart," he said.

"I am Groot," Groot agreed.

"You two ready?" Rocket asked as he opened the door of our ship.

I grabbed my weapons and slid them into their various holsters. "Ready as I'll ever be."

* * *

"Xandarians," said Rocket. "What a bunch of losers. All of 'em in a big hurry to get from somethin' stupid to nothin' at all."

"Can't disagree with you there, buddy," I said as I idly sharpened my dagger.

"I am Groot," Groot gurgled through a mouthful of water.

The three of us were beside a large fountain, watching the people go by. Rocket used his scanner to see if people had a bounty on them, while I attempted (unsuccessfully) to get Groot to stop drinking fountain water.

"I mean, look at this guy!" said Rocket, indicating a man with pale blonde hair in a side fringe. "You believe they call us criminals when he's out here assaulting us with that haircut?!" He then indicated a small toddler boy. "And what is this thing?! Thinkin' it's so cool! It's not cool to get help! Walk by yourself, you little gargoyle!" Finally, he indicated an old man holding a young woman of around my age in his arms as he spoke to her. "And look at Mr Smiles over here. Where's your wife, old man? What a Class-A prevert!" He laughed to himself. "Right, Solo, Groot?"

"Ugh, I know that guy," I said in disgust. "He hit on me last week. He kept trying to buy me drinks and tell me how many units he makes in a year. Probably just tryin' to get into my pants. Any bounties on him?"

"Afraid not," said Rocket, checking his scanner. He then noticed Groot, who was bent over the fountain and scooping the water into his mouth.

"Don't drink fountain water, you idiot!" Rocket scolded. "That's disgusting!"

"And unhealthy," I added. "You know how many people pee in that fountain?"

Groot quickly backed away from the fountain, shaking his head.

"Yes you did! I just saw you doing it! Why are you lying?!" said Rocket.

His scanner then beeped, flashing red.

"I think we got one," said Rocket, picking it up and looking through it.

"Good," I said. "Looks like we'll be eating dinner tonight!"

The scanner picked up a human male who was maybe in his twenties or thirties, up on the balcony above us. "OK, humie," said Rocket deviously, "How bad does someone wanna find you?"

His stats appeared on the screen:

_**Name: Peter Quill**_

_**Wanted: Alive**_

_**Guarantor: Youndu Udonta**_

_**Bounty: 40, 000 U.**_

"Forty thousand units!" Rocket breathed.

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed.

"Groot, Solo!" said Rocet excitedly. "We're gonna be rich!"

But Groot was drinking fountain water again, not paying the slightest bit of attention. Rocket sighed in exasperation, shaking his head.

"So, when should we grab him?" I asked as Quill left the woman he'd arrived with behind and walked towards Broker's Store. "Now?"

"Nah," said Rocket. "We'll wait till he's totally unprepared, so we can catch him off-guard. Let's wait until he gets out of Broker's."

"I am Groot," said Groot.

"40,000 units," Rocket replied.

"I am Groot!" Groot exclaimed.

"That's what I said!" I told him.

We waited as he went into Broker's. Just after he did, a green woman with long black hair in black leather clothing stopped outside the door, eating a piece of fruit. She looked pretty shady. I pointed her out to Rocket.

"Eh, she won't be a problem," said Rocket dismissively. "There's one of her, and three of us. What can she do?"

"I guess ... " I said, though I still had an uneasy feeling in my gut about this woman.

Just then, Quill was kicked out of the store. The green woman then struck up a conversation with him. I noticed that her eyes kept darting towards the orb in his hand, and the uneasy feeling intensified.

"Maybe we should get him now," I told the guys.

"Nah, let's just wait it out," said Rocket, still not believing the green woman posed a threat.

Suddenly, she kicked Quill hard in the gut, took his orb thingy from him, and ran away.

"On second thoughts, now is good," said Rocket. He put away his scanner quickly, I took my bow from my back, Groot turned away from the fountain, and we all ran.

Quill threw an electric rope at the woman, which tied itself around her legs and tripped her. As Quill dived at her, she got her legs free and kicked him off. They punched and kicked each other on the ground for a few seconds, before the woman gained the upper hand and rolled on top of him. She pulled a knife and held it above her head.

"This wasn't the plan," I heard her say, before Rocket dived at her, knocking her off of Quill.

"Put him in the bag! Put him in the bag!" Rocket yelled as the green woman struggled. Groot reached out his tendrils towards her, pulling her towards the sack he was holding.

"Not her, him! Learn genders, man." yelled Rocket as Groot pulled the green woman closer and Quill stared in disbelief. He then noticed I was there. We stared at one another for a second, before I pulled one of my arrows out of my quiver, notched it into the bow, and aimed it at him. He took off running at that. I charged after him. Behind me, I heard the woman screaming and Rocket saying "Biting? That's not fair!"

I fired arrows at the retreating Quill, but he kept dodging them. Instead, I slung the bow back over my back, grabbed a gun from my thigh holster, and fired at him. I hit him hard in the back, and he went down quickly. I dived on top of him, keeping him pinned down with my legs, as I began to tie his hands together with more of the electric rope I found in his pocket.

I then heard a scream from behind me, and I looked over my shoulder. The green woman finally broke free of Groot's grip, then seized Rocket and hurled him over the balcony. He slammed into a glass case and lay on the ground, motionless.

"ROCKET!" I screamed. At that moment, I all but completely forgot about Quill, and his 40,000 unit bounty. All I cared about was the fact that the green woman had seriously hurt one of my best friends.

_This bitch was going down._

Takin advantage of my distraction, Quill punched me hard in the face, knocking me off of him, and took off. I ignored him, as I was already running at the green woman, who was after Quill. I dived at her, taking her by surprise and knocking her off her feet. I began to punch her in the face, but she grabbed me by both wrists and head butted me hard in the forehead, causing my vision to go dark at the edges. Blinking furiously, I leaned down quickly and bit her hard on the nose. She yelled in pain and let my wrists go. Immediately, I was pointing one of my guns at her.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't do it," I hissed at her.

"Because you're not gonna get the chance," she replied.

Before I could react, she had grabbed me by the hip and thrown me off of her. She took off after Quill, throwing a knife at him. It hit him in the hand, causing him to drop the orb he was carrying. It rolled over the edge of the balcony.

The green woman then turned to Groot, who was still attempting to put her in the sack, and slashed at him with her sword. She then jumped over the balcony. I ran to Groot.

"You OK?" I asked him. "That bitch didn't hurt you, did she?"

"I am Groot," he answered with a shake of his head.

"Good," I said. "Now let's go get Rocket and get the fuck out of here before the cops show up."

I hurdled over the balcony edge, Groot behind me. Rocket had regained consciousness, and didn't seem too badly hurt.

"Rocket!" I said as I ran up to him and hugged him.

"I am Groot?" Groot asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Rocket dismissively. "Now c'mon. Let's go get Quill and get back to the ship."

"But Rocket!" I exclaimed, releasing him. "The cops-"

"But Solo!" said Rocket, mimicking me. "Forty thousand units! C'mon, Groot. Put him in the bag - and not the green chick this time!"

I glared at him momentarily before I went after him and Groot. I love Rocket and all, but he really is a stubborn asshole.

Quill had just launched the green woman away from him and was throwing his orb triumphantly. Seems he forgot about us. Groot came up behind him and put the sack over his head, tossing him over his shoulder.

"WHAT THE - " Quill yelled from within the sack. I almost felt bad for him. We all began to walk away, Groot with a big smile plastered across his face for some reason.

"Quit smiling, ya idiot," Rocket said to him. "You're supposed to be a professional." He then stopped and sighed in exasperation. "You gotta be kidding me."

The green woman pushed him out of the way. I pulled out my bow and arrow, but before I could do anything, she had kicked me hard in the stomach, sending me across the courtyard. My body smacked into the fountain.

"OW!" I gasped. "That's gonna hurt tomorrow."

"Solo!" exclaimed Rocket as he pulled out one of his guns and turned to the woman, but she was already attacking Groot - she kept slashing at his arms with her sword, until finally she chopped them off.

The look on Groot's face was enough to get me onto my feet and charge towards the woman, with every intention of beating her to death, nice and slowly - however, Quill beat me to the punch. When the woman opened the sack, he immediately fired a taser gun at her and knocked her out cold. He then took off running again. Rocket then took his gun off of his back and activated it.

"I live for the simple things," he said as he aimed after Quill. "Like how much this is gonna hurt."

The electric blast hit Quill hard in the back. He screamed out loud and twisted in pain as he was shocked.

"Yeah," chuckled Rocket. "Writhe, little man."

I grinned at him as we hi-fived.

"Good work, Rocket," I said to him.

"You too," he said. He indicated the unconscious green woman. "What do we do with this one?"

"Leave her to rot, I say," I said savagely. "Nobody does that to you and Groot on my watch. I'd kill her right here if there weren't ... Y'know, dozens of eyewitnesses."

Groot whimpered, nudging his severed arm with his foot.

"It'll grow back, you d'ast idiot," said Rocket. "Quit whining."

Suddenly, there was a rumbling noise from above us, and Rocket, Groot, the green woman and I were then suspended in the air, caged by golden light.

"Oh, fuck," I muttered.

We were surrounded by ships of the Nova Corp police force.

"Subject 89P13 and Ralaarian, drop your weapons!" said one of the officers.

"Aw, crap," I heard Rocket mutter as he dropped his gun. I let my bow and arrows fall to the ground, as well as the weapons in my holsters.

"By the authority of the Nova Corps, you are under arrest for endangerment to life and destruction of property!" "

"We are so boned," I muttered.

I was going to _murder _that green chick.


	3. Taken to the Kyln

_**Whoop de do, another chapter. I bet you're all just skipping with excitement. Enjoy it!**_

* * *

The ride to the police station was nothing short of awkward. We were all lined up on a bench the length of one side of the ship, whilst a number of guards sat across from us, giving us mean glances and pointing weapons at us to make sure we stayed in line.

I was at the near end of the row. Beside me, at the end, was the green woman, whose name was revealed to be Gamora. She wouldn't speak to or even look at any of us, but I was just fine with that. I was already going crazy with the effort not to attack her - I had tried just before we were brought onto the ship, and I ended up being tased, and getting my wrists bound together with some electrum rope that burned like Hell whenever I moved my arms.

On my other side was Rocket, who didn't seem in the least bit bothered by the whole ordeal. He had been arrested 22 times before, after all, and had escaped all 22 times. Being arrested wasn't a big deal to him. Beside him was Quill, who looked scared, freaked out, and annoyed all at the same time, and Groot, who even after being arrested as many times as we had, still didn't seem to realise what was going on.

"Hey," Rocket said to me suddenly. I glanced at him, my lips pressed together, and let out a small "Mmh?" noise of acknowledgement.

"Look, Solo," he said, "I'm sorry I got us arrested, OK? Now will you stop ignorin' me?"

"Ignoring you?" I repeated. "I wasn't ignoring you. I just ... Didn't have anything to say to you."

Rocket rolled his eyes. "Weird, that," he said. "Usually ya never freakin' shut up."

I made to give him a small punch on the shoulder, and gasped out in pain as the electrum cuffs burned into my skin.

"You alright?!" Rocket exclaimed, alarmed. "What did those bastards do to you?!"

"I - it's fine," I said, trying to keep the gasp out of my voice. "Just - just some electrum rope. I'm OK."

"I thought your species was immune to electricity?!" Rocket inquired.

"Not - when it's this - strong - OW!" I cried out as the rope bit into my skin even more. "It's OK, it's OK!" I said quickly at the furious expression on Rocket's face. "I'm fine, really."

"Well ... Alright ... " said Rocket, though I did see him glower at the guard who had tied the rope around my wrists. "Just ... If something's wrong, let me know. OK?"

I nodded as I felt myself begin to smile a little; why, I didn't know. "Thanks, Rocket," I said.

* * *

"Get in the line-up!" A guard yelled, poking me sharply in the back with his gun. I glowered at him and mouthed an insult once his back was turned, before I stepped into the small room and glared out at the officers who were looking through my records.

"Solo," read out one of the officers as my stats appeared on the glass screen that separated me from them. "23 years old. One of the only known survivors of Thanos's takeover of the planet Ralaaria. Has been travelling for the past ten years with fellow outlaws Subject 89P13 and the Flora Colossus Groot."

I was then dismissed, and Quill went in after me. Once he did, he flipped them off.

"What a bunch of a-holes," said the other officer. I simply scoffed - I had been called much worse things in my life than "A-Hole". "Transport all four to the Kyln."

* * *

"I guess most of the Nova Corps want to 'uphold the law', but these ones here? They're corrupt and cruel!" said Rocket as the five of us were lead into the Kyln by some more guards. He then laughed to himself. "But hey, that's not my problem. I've escaped _22_ prisons, this one's no different." He then addressed Quill. "You're lucky the broad showed up, otherwise me, Solo and Groot would be collection' that bounty right now and you'd be gettin' drawn and quartered by Yondu and those Ravagers."

If this was meant to psych Quill out or scare him, it didn't work. On the contrary, he looked rather unimpressed.

"I've had a lot of folks try to kill me over the years," he said dryly. "I ain't about to be brought down by a purple kid, a tree, and a talking raccoon."

"Hold!" said a guard, stopping us.

"Wait, what's a raccoon?!" Rocket said with both annoyance and confusion on his face, clearly wondering whether or not this was an insult.

"'What's a raccoon'?" Quill repeated mockingly. "It's what you are, stupid."

I stomped hard on his toes at that. "Don't call him stupid, you jerk," I hissed at him as he exclaimed in pain and glowered at me. "And don't call me a kid, either!"

"Ain't no thing like me, 'cept me!" declared Rocket, pointing at himself with both thumbs.

We were then brought through a gate, as Quill then spoke to Gamora, who was at the head of the line.

"So this orb has a real shiny blue suitcase, Ark of the Covenant, Maltese Falcon sort of vibe," he said to her. "What is it?"

I had no idea what the fuck he was talking about. Terrans talk about the stupidest shit, let me tell you. "Shiny blue suitcase"? "Maltese Falcon"? Jesus, these guys should come with built-in dictionaries.

"I am Groot," Groot said to him. Evidently Quill didn't speak Groot, because he merely looked confused and said, "So what. What's the Orb?"

"I have no words for an honourless thief," said Gamora with a deadpan tone.

Rocket gave a sarcastic snort. "That's pretty high and mighty, coming from the lackey of a genocidal maniac," he said. It turned out that not only was Gamora a daughter of Thanos, she was also a lieutenant of the insane serial killer Ronan. Didn't think it was possible to hate her more than I already did, but I had proved myself wrong.

When Gamora glanced at him in thinly veiled surprise, Rocket continued with "Yeah, I know who you are. Anyone who's anyone knows who _you _are."

"Yeah, we know who you are!" repeated Quill. "Who is she?" he then asked Groot.

"I am Groot," Groot told him.

" ... Yeah, ya said that," said Quill, looking more confused than ever.

"I wasn't retrieving the Orb for Ronan," Gamora said suddenly as the guard in front of us stopped at a door and began to fiddle with his wristband. Rocket looked at the wristband and furrowed his brow in thought. "I was betraying him. I had an agreement to sell it to a third party."

"Oh, really now?" I said to her in mock interest. "And why should we believe someone who earlier today attempted to kill us?!"

She glared at me. "Because, _Soho," _she said dangerously, "I do not lie."

I gritted my teeth. "It's _SOLO." _I corrected her. "Not 'Soho'." What is a "Soho", anyway?!

Quill then let out a snort of laughter. "Solo?" he repeated. "Like Han Solo?"

I gave him a funny look. "What's a Han Solo?" I asked curiously.

"From Star Wars," said Quill. "Y'know? Chewie, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia? Not ring any bells?" At my confused look, he simply sighed and said "Never mind."

The guard then got the door open and we went in.

"I am Groot," said Groot again.

"Well, that's just as fascinating as the first 89 times you told me that!" Quill snapped. "What is wrong with 'Giving Tree' here?"

"Well, he don't know talkin' good like you and me," Rocket replied. "So his vocabulistics is limited to 'I' and 'Am' and 'Groot'. Exclusively in that order."

"Well, I tell you what; that's gonna wear real thin, real fast," said Quill, before suddenly letting out an angry exclamation. "Hey! Put that away!" he snapped, before sliding into the next room and yelling at a guard, who was wearing a funny pair of ear muffs that I presumed were Quill's. "Listen to me, you big blue bastard, take those headphones off! That's mine! Those belong in impound, that tape and that player is MINE!"

The guard then charged over to Quill with an angry roar and tased him, causing him to collapse to his knees. I began to bite my nails, hoping that Quill wouldn't be stupid enough to continue arguing.

"Hooked On a Feeling! Blue Swede! 1973!" Quill gasped out through what looked like tears. "That song belongs to me!"

The guard continued tasing him, causing him to fall to the ground and shudder.

I hissed slightly as I continued to chew on my nails. "Stupid idiot," I muttered. "He forgot the golden rule of going to prison."

Rocket looked up at me, confused. "Golden rule?" he repeated.

"Never piss off hulking guards with huge-ass tasers," I told him.

* * *

I pressed my fists to my eyes as I was, once again, sprayed with orange fluid. I hated the fluid - it was sticky, made my skin itch, and burned like Hell if it got into my eyes. Why the guards insist on hosing us down like this, I'll never know.

"It's done," said the guard who had been spraying me. "Now get out of my sight, Ralaarian."

I glared at him as I was lead from the room and thrust into a small cell by two other guards. Quill and Rocket were already in the room, having been hosed down themselves. They were taking their prison uniforms down from shelves and getting dressed. Quill was staring in unconcealed disgust at Rocket's deformed back as he dressed.

"Don't stare," I hissed at Quill as I pulled a uniform in my own size down towards me.

"Huh?" he asked as if he'd only just noticed me.

"He doesn't like it when you stare," I whispered in reply, indicating at Rocket with my eyes.

Quill nodded slightly, slowly turning away from Rocket, and began to dress himself. Rocket, who was finished, turned to leave the room. As I caught a glimpse of his face, I saw that it was twisted into a scowl; it seemed he had noticed Quill's staring and my whispering.

When Quill was finished dressing, he turned to the door as well. Before he could leave, I grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Uh, Quill?" I said.

"What?" he asked me, his brow furrowing.

"Look, I'm sorry about the whole bounty thing," I said to him. "It's just ... "

"Business," Quill finished my sentence for me. "Yeah, I know. Sometimes I don't like doing what I do either."

I nodded at him, and we both left.

* * *

Once we got to the actual prison area of the Kyln, some more guards handed the five of us a sleeping mat each and shoved us through. Once we walked through, I heard many angry shouts and people began to pelt us with garbage. For a second, I wondered what we had possible done to make the prisoners hate us, and then I heard what they were shouting.

_"MURDERER!"_

_"YOU FIRST! YOU FIRST!"_

_"I'M COMING FOR YOU FIRST GAMORA!"_

_"YOU'RE SCUM! YOU'RE SCUM!"_

I glanced at Gamora to see how she was taking this. To my surprise, she didn't seem to care - her only reaction was to flinch slightly whenever a piece of garbage hit her, and the hunch of her shoulders.

Honestly, I felt bad for her. I knew she wasn't exactly a fantastic person, but surely she didn't deserve all of this?

"It's like I said," said Rocket over the shouts, "She's got a rep. A lot of prisoners here have lost their families to Ronan and his goons. She'll last a day, tops."

"The guards will protect her, right?" asked Quill. I rolled my eyes at how naive he was - clearly he'd never been in jail before.

"The guards are pieces of scum," I told him. "They don't give a shit about us or our safety. Their sole purpose is to stop us from getting out - if Ronan himself bust in here now and started to slaughter us, they wouldn't bat an eye."

Quill's eyes widened. " ...oh."

"Whatever nightmares the future holds are dreams compared to what's behind me," Gamora suddenly spat venemously.

"You won't be sayin' that when you're getting your throat slit in front of the entire prison," I told her matter-of-factly. She didn't look at me.

We were then stopped by a ginormous blue dude whose species I couldn't place. Probably some kind of hybrid.

"Check out the new meat!" he said, indicating Quill. He began to grope at him. "I'm gonna slather you up in Gunavian Jelly," he chuckled as he ran his hand down Quill's face. I wasn't sure if he planned to eat him or have sex with him. Probably both.

Suddenly, Groot had jammed two fingers up the creep's nostrils and lifted him up into the air as he howled in pain.

"Let's make something clear!" Rocket yelled at the other prisoners as Groot lifted the creep even higher. "This one here's OUR BOOTY! You wanna get to him? You go through us! Or, more accurately, we go through YOU!"

There was then a terrible noise of breaking bones as the creep crashed to the floor and clutched his nose, groaning in pain.

"And, another thing," Rocket added, pointing to me, "If anyone so much as THINKS as going near her, I will personally make sure that your spine is ripped out and shoved up your ass. That clear?!"

He and Groot then stepped over the writhing body of the creep and went towards our cell.

"Yup ... " I said to the other prisoners, putting my hand on Quill's shoulder. "We're with them." We then stepped over the blue creep and followed Groot and Rocket.

Before I entered the cell, I turned around and saw Gamora about to enter her cell. She was flanked by other inmates, who were taunting and threatening her. She didn't acknowledge them in any way, simply going into her cell, but the inmates remained for several seconds, banging on the cell door.

I began to bite my nails again. For how much longer would Gamora be safe? And more importantly, why did I care?

Perhaps I do have a soul after all.


	4. Drax the Destroyer

_**Once again, here's an update. I hope you'll enjoy it. Also, I'd like it if I could get some reviews as well. Reviews make me happy, and when I'm happy, I update. Now onto the story!**_

* * *

Rocket awoke with a start as he felt a sudden movement near him. He sat up blearily and squinted across the packed cell, as he saw Quill creep out the cell door.

"Quill, where ya goin'?" he muttered sleepily.

Quill was either ignoring him or he simply didn't hear, as he continued on his was out of the cell and down the path.

"Quill!" said Rocket again. He sighed heavily in exasperation, realising that a), Quill was probably off doing something strange and life threatening, and b) He, Rocket, would have to be the one to go after him.

His voice awoke Solo, who sat up straight away as if she'd been electrocuted.

"Wuzzgoinon?!" she exclaimed, rubbing at her face. Her eyes were half stuck shut with sleep and her short black hair was up in tufts all over her head. She looked strangely adorable.

"Nothin', sweetheart," said Rocket, giving her a small pat on the head. "Go back to sleep."

Solo gave him a hard look through her sleepy green eyes, then mumbled something along the lines of "Fiksuhfirr" before laying back down and closing her eyes. The small snores Rocket heard several seconds later indicated that she was back asleep. He ran out of the cell and after Quill.

* * *

As soon as I heard Rocket's footsteps fade away, I climbed to my feet and made for the door of the cell. I wanted to know what was going on. I hate being left out of things.

When I got out of the cell, I went in the direction I'd seen Rocket go in. I then heard voices down in the showers and made my way towards them, knowing that this was probably where Rocket had gone. Once I got there, I followed the voices. What I saw both shocked and frightened me at the same time.

Gamora was pinned up against a wall by another prisoner. He was a bluish-grey colour with brownish-red tattoos all over his body and looked very strong. There was also a prisoner beside him whose name I didn't know. Quill was there with Rocket beside him. None of them had noticed me. Even though Gamora was the only one there who was facing me, I didn't want to take my chances.

"Woman, your words mean nothing to me!" the tattooed guy was screaming in Gamora's face as he held a knife to her throat.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey! Hey!" Quill exclaimed, darting forward.

"Aw, crap," muttered Rocket, putting his hand to his face. I went to bite my nails again, but the days events had left me only with little red-raw slivers of fingernail left. Instead I bit my lip as I watched the events unfold before me.

"You know, if killing Ronan is truly your sole purpose, I don't think this is the best way to go about it." said Quill.

"Are you not the man this wench attempted to kill?!" said the tattooed guy incredulously.

"Well, she's hardly the first woman who's tried to do that to me," chuckled Quill. He then pulled up his shirt a little. I couldn't see what he was doing from behind him, but I assumed he was pointing at some form of scar or injury. "Look, this is from a smokin' hot Rajak girl; stabbed me with a fork, didn't like me skipping out on her at sunrise." He then let his shirt fall and tugged his neckline down a little. "And right here, a Kree girl tried to rip out my thorax. She caught me with this skinny little A'askavariian who worked for Nova Records - I was trying to get information! You ever seen an A'askavariian? Tentacles, needles for teeth. If you think I'm seriously interested in that, then - "

He then noticed the look the tattooed guy was giving him. Even Gamora, who was currently in the process of being strangled to death, looked bored with his tangent.

" - You don't care," said Quill. "But here's the point; she betrayed Ronan. He's coming back for her. And when he does, that's when you ... "

He did something with his hand, then, that I didn't see. The tattooed guy then frowned at him in confusion and said " ... Why would I put my finger on his throat?"

At that, I gave a loud snort of laughter. Which, of course, alerted them of my prescence.

"Who's there?" Rocket called out, moving towards me. I quickly flattened myself up against the wall, hoping Rocket wouldn't look around the corner and see me.

He did.

_Fuck._

"Solo?!" he exclaimed in surprise. "What the fuck are you doin' down here?!"

"Um ... eavesdropping?" I suggested lamely with a slight laugh, which I immediately stopped when I saw the expression on Rocket's face.

"Listen, Solo!" he hissed, pulling me closer towards him. "These guys are dangerous. You saw what that guy was about to do to Gamora. I just don't want you to get hurt."

I sighed. "All right, all right," I said. "I'm sorry. But what exactly is going on? Why is that guy trying to kill Gamora?"

"His name's Drax the Destroyer," Rocket replied as we both went back around the corner. Quill was trying, in vain, to explain the whole "finger-on-the-throat" thing to a very confused Drax. "He's pretty famous around here; he's killed a shit ton of Ronan's goons. Looks like he wanted to add Gamora to the list."

"What I'm saying is, you wanna keep her alive," Quill said to Drax. "Don't do his work for him."

Drax glanced at Gamora with contempt for a long moment, before releasing his grip on her throat. She fell to her knees, massaging her neck and choking. Drax then glanced at the knife in his hand.

"I like your knife," he said to the other prisoner. "I'm keeping it."

"That was my favourite knife ... " said the prisoner mournfully as Drax stalked off.

I walked hesitantly up to the kneeling Gamora and offered her my hand. She stared at it, then glanced up at me in confusion, before slowly accepting it and letting me pull her up.

"You all right?" I asked her. Don't ask why, I don't know myself. Maybe I felt bad for her. I have no fuckin' clue.

She gave a slow nod, and the four of us went back into the main hall of the prison.

_"Listen!" _said Quill to Gamora as we went back to our cell. "I could care less whether you live or whether you die."

"Then why stop the big guy?" Gamora demanded, turning to face him.

"Simple," said Quill. "You know where to sell my Orb."

"And how are we gonna sell it when we and it are still here?" asked Gamora.

Quill smirked a little, before turning to me and Rocket.

"My friends Solo and Rocket here," he said, "Have escaped 22 prisons."

"Oh, we're gettin' out!" declared Rocket proudly. He then adressed Quill. "And then we're headed straight to Yondu to retrieve _your _bounty."

Ugh ... I'd forgotten about Quill and his bounty. Why was Rocket still hung up on that? It was only 40 K. We'd made bigger deals before.

For some reason, Quill didn't seem distressed about his imminent death; in fact, his smirk simply widened. "How much was your buyer willing to pay you for my Orb?" he asked Gamora.

She sighed heavily. "Five billion units," she said.

_"WHAT?!" _exclaimed Rocket.

_"Holy shit!" _exclaimed Quill.

I, meanwhile, had begun to choke on my own saliva. Rocket had to thump me on the back until I choked it up.

"That Orb is my opportunity to get away from Thanos and Ronan," said Gamora. "If you free us, I'll lead you to the buyer directly and we'll split the profit between the four of us."

I was surprised that she included me as well. I probably wouldn't be of much use in this whole endeavour. Sure, I've escaped a lot of prisons, but that's only because I've always had Rocket and his ridiculous plans that never failed to work by my side. Without him, I'd still be rotting in the first prison.

Hell, without him, I'd probably be rotting on that horrible planet.

"I am Groot!" said a voice suddenly. Groot was standing in the cell beside us.

"Five of us," Rocket said to Gamora. "Asleep for the danger, awake for the money, as per frickin' usual."

Groot gave a slight groan.

When we all went back to bed, I found myself unable to sleep despite the late hour. Rocket hadn't told me what his big escape plan was, or if he even had a plan yet. Knowing him, it would probably be something huge, dramatic, and a pain in the ass to pull off. I remember in our third prison, he had me disguise as a guard so I could slip into the coffee room and distract the other guards by claiming that Thanos was outside. It was pretty funny actually ... except, of course, for the part where I got caught and tased within an inch of my life.

_God, I hope this plan of his works ..._


	5. Prison Break

_**Two updates in two days? Wow, I really do have nothing to do with my time. I had so much fun writing this chapter! The prison break scene would have to be my favourite scene in the movie, what with Groot's adorableness, Rocket being so trigger-happy, and all the sheer badassness that the Guardians display. Enjoy it!**_

* * *

Despite how late I had fallen asleep the night before, I woke up rather early. Most of the other prisoners piled on the floor around me were still asleep, but I could hear the noises of several people moving around outside the cell. I got to my feet, careful not to awake Rocket, who was asleep beside me. He actually looked cute all curled up like that.

I stepped over the other prisoners, nearly tripping over them more than once, as I picked my way towards the cell door and got out. There were only a few prisoners sitting at the cafeteria tables; a man with tentacles instead of arms and a bright yellow bald man having an intense conversation with one another, an obese redheaded woman watching some holograms, and sitting far away from them on the other side of the room was Drax, who was staring off into space, seemingly absorbed in his own thoughts.

I walked past the other tables over to him, but he didn't seem to notice I was there. I cleared my throat, causing him to start in surprise and turn towards me.

"Hi," I said to him.

"Hello," he said. "Aren't you the small purple one who was with the strange-looking rodent and the one who has lain with an A'askavariian?"

"That would be me, yes," I said. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"No, I suppose not," said Drax as I sat down across from him. "What is it that you want?"

"Nothing, really," I said to him. "I just thought you might like some company. I'm Solo, by the way."

He gave a small smile at that. "My name is Drax."

"Well, it's nice meeting you," I said. "How long have you been in the Kyln for?"

"Perhaps a year," Drax replied. "What are you in for?"

"Oh, just the usual," I said. "Public disturbance, destruction of property, yadda yadda yadda. But hey, I'll be fine. My friends and I don't plan on being here for long anyway."

"You are going to escape?" Drax asked, frowning. I silently cursed my big mouth; what if he told the guards? I just nodded. To my surprise, Drax cracked a grin.

"Excellent," he said. "Then I shall escape as well."

I cocked my head and gave him a very confused look. "Huh?" I asked.

"Your friend Quill promised me that I would be able to stay by the side of that murderous wench Gamora until I could kill Ronan," replied Drax. "He will not break his promise, I am sure."

"Mmm," I murmured, deciding not to tell Drax that Quill was hardly a man of his word. "Anyway, Drax, I should probably be getting back to my cell. Rocket and Groot might be wondering where I am."

"Who are 'Rocket' and 'Groot'?" Drax asked curiously.

"Well, they're my best friends," I replied. "They found me when I was a kid, they helped me get off the planet I was stuck on, and they took me in. They're pretty much my family."

Drax gave a small smile, but I could see that the smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Sorry, did I say something wrong?" I asked Drax.

"No, no," said Drax. "You just ... reminded me of my own family, that's all."

"What happened to them?" I asked concernedly.

Drax looked away from me. "Ronan," he said coldly. "Ronan happened to them."

"Oh," I said, feeling awful for him. So that was why he had wanted to kill Gamora; to get back at Ronan for killing his family. "I'm so sorry, Drax. I know how you feel."

"No, you don't!" snapped Drax. "No one knows how I feel."

"Oh, really?" I said coldly, standing up. "Thanos killed my family and destroyed my home world when I was eleven, so _yes, _I think I _do _know how you feel!"

Drax glanced back at me, his face expressionless. "I am sorry," he said after a long moment. "I did not know."

"It's fine," I replied. "It was a long time ago. I'm over it." I glanced at my feet, before turning away. "See you around, Drax."

"Goodbye, small purple one," he replied as I went back towards my cell.

* * *

"So ... " said Rocket to me as he, Groot, Gamora, Quill and I were going to get breakfast, "Is there any particular reason why you started wanderin' around the prison at the crack of dawn?"

"Well, I woke up," I replied. "And I was bored. Therefore ... " The smartmouthed reply I was about to say died in my throat once I saw the angry expression on Rocket's face.

"I swear to God, it's like you have a fuckin' death wish or somethin'!" he growled in frustration, tugging at his fur. "First there was last night, when you followed me and Quill down to the showers - "

"And how was I supposed to know that I was walking towards attempted murder?!" I demanded. Rocket went on talking as if he hand't heard me.

" - And then you go wanderin' around a jail full of nutcases all by yourself!" he snapped. "Just what the Hell is the matter with you? Do you not give a single shit about your personal safety?!"

"For God's sakes, Rocket, everyone was asleep!" I argued. "Nothing bad happened, I'm completely _fine."_

"You were havin' a conversation with the guy who tried to slit a woman's throat last night!" yelled Rocket. I wanted nothing more that to tell him to get off my back already, but I knew that that would just make him even angrier at me.

"Stop yelling at me," I told him. He glared angrily and I knew that he didn't want to stop yelling, but he instead sighed in exasperation.

"Alright, fine!" he said. "Just don't fuckin' do it again, all right?"

"I won't," I said to him. Quill snickered.

"Ah, look at 'em," he said to Groot. "Arguing like an old married couple."

"I am Groot," Groot chuckled.

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response," I told him.

"Technically that counts as a response," said Gamora with a slight smile.

"Oh, shut up," I muttered.

We reached the cafeteria and got our food.

"So Rocket," said Quill to Rocket, "What's this big plan of yours?"

We walked towards a table with our food. Rocket indicated the huge watch tower in the middle of the prison.

"If we're gonna get out of here, we're gonna need to get into _that _watchtower," he told us. "And to do that, I'm gonna need a few things."

"Like what?" I asked.

"The guards wear security bands to control their ins and outs," said Rocket. "I need one."

"Leave it to me," said Gamora.

Rocket then pointed to a man with a robotic leg walking nearby us. "That dude there, I need his prosthetic leg," he said. He said it with a slight chuckle, which made me question whether or not he was serious.

"His _leg?" _repeated Quill.

"Yeah," said Rocket. "God knows I don't need the rest of him. Look at him, he's useless."

"Alright," shrugged Quill.

"And finally," said Rocket as we took our seats at a table, "On the wall back there is a black panel. Blinky yellow light. Do you see it?"

I glanced at the watch tower and saw the panel he was talking about. "Yeah," I said. "What about it?"

"There's a quarnyx battery behind it," replied Rocket. "Purplish box. Green wires. To get into the watch tower I definitely need it."

"Seems fair," I said. "There's just the minor drawback of there being no way to get it without someone noticing."

"She's right," said Gamora. "How are we supposed to get it?"

"Well, supposedly, these bald-bodies find you attractive." Rocket suggested. "Maybe you could work out some kind of trade."

"You must be joking." Gamora glared at him.

"No, I really heard they find you attractive," said Rocket. "How 'bout you, So?"

"The mere idea of doing that makes me want to shoot something," I replied.

"Look, it's twenty feet up in the air, and it's in the middle of the most heavily guarded part of the prison." said Quill. "It's impossible to get up there without being seen."

Rocket grew annoyed at this. "Look, I got one plan, and that plan requires a frickin' quarnyx battery, so _FIGURE IT OUT!" _he yelled at Quill.

Suddenly, I heard a loud bang and an exclamation of pain from the watch tower. I looked over at it, only to see Groot attempting to get the quarnyx battery for Rocket. Drax was standing nearby, staring at him in confusion.

"Uh, guys?" I said.

"Now, this is important," said Rocket. "Once the battery is removed - "

"Guys." I said louder.

"Everything is going to slam into emergency mode."

"Guys!" I said again.

"Once we have it, we gotta move quickly. So you definitely need to get that _last." _said Rocket.

"GUYS!" I exclaimed.

_"WHAT?!" _they all demanded.

Suddenly, the room got darker and a siren began to go off. We all turned around and saw Groot, holding out the quarnyx battery to us with a hopeful expression on his face.

_"Or, _we could just get it first and improvise!" said Rocket.

"I'll get the armband." said Gamora, getting from her seat and running off.

"Leg!" groaned Quill as he did the same.

Rocket then tugged at his head fur some more and gave a loud growl of exasperation.

Some small drones then shot out of a doorway and flew towards Groot, surrounding him.

"Prisoner!" said the guard in the watch tower. "Drop the device immediately and return to your cell or we will open fire."

Groot glared at all of the drones surrounding him.

_"I. AM. GROOOOOOOOT!" _he screamed.

"Fire!" said the guard.

The ships began to fire at him. Luckily, they were only small bullets, made for injuring and not killing, so they didn't hurt him. Groot gave a roar and hit one of the drones, causing it to explode. He did the same with a few others, but more and more kept coming at him. It was pandemonium in the cafeteria, all of the prisoners trying to escape the battle.

"All prisoners return to your sleeping areas!" said the guard in the watch tower.

Rocket and I ran towards Groot, ducking and dodging all of the bullets. I wasn't as lucky as he was; I had already been hit several times. I was just lucky that it wasn't real bullets being used. Finally the pair of us reached Groot and climbed up him. Rocket perched on his shoulder, while I hung off of his back.

"YOU IDIOT!" Rocket yelled at Groot over the noise. "How am I supposed to fight these things without my stuff?!"

Another drone flew up to us and opened fire, Groot only just managing to block its bullets. I knew he wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer; we needed weapons to be able to destroy the drones.

I jumped off of Groot's back and ran, putting my arms over my head to protect myself from the bullets. They pierced my skin and drew blood, but they were only minor wounds.

Some guards then ran into the cafeteria, holding guns. They didn't seem to notice me, as they were too busy with Rocket and Groot.

"The animal is out of control!" said a guard. "Fire on my command!"

They raised their guns and pointed them at Rocket and Groot.

"Oh no, you _don't!" _I growled as I ran up to them from behind. I jumped up and kicked one of them down, then grabbed his head and smacked it into the floor to knock him out. I was about to grab his gun, but another guard seized me by the hair and pulled me back, then pressed his gun to my temple.

"Let me _GO!" _I screamed, just before someone grabbed him and pulled him off of me, throwing him across the prison.

It was Drax.

"Drax?" I asked. He didn't answer. He pulled me to my feet, then grabbed the gun of the guard I had knocked out and tossed it at another guard, hitting him in the head. I grabbed another guard who was running at me and kneed him hard in the stomach several times, before pulling him back and punching him in the face, knocking him to the ground.

Another guard tried to attack me from behind, but Drax kicked him and sent him flying into yet another guard. Three more guards ran into the room. Drax vaulted over one of their shoulders and kicked another around the head, then headbutted the one he had vaulted over. The third guard charged towards me, but I dropped to the floor and swung my leg out at him, knocking him off his feet. Drax then picked him up and threw him across the prison as I picked up his gun, and another gun lying nearby for myself.

"ROCKET!" I called. Rocket turned to me, and I tossed him a gun, which he caught with ease. He cocked it as a devious smile of pleasure spread across his face.

_"Oh ... yeah."_

He then gave an extremely loud battle cry as he began to fire madly around the room, shooting anything that moved. He was clearly in his element when he had a weapon in his hand. Groot joined in, screaming along with him. I couldn't help but smile at the sight.

Drax remained down in the cafeteria to deal with any more guards that came in as I ran around upstairs, looking for Gamora and Quill.

Finally I spotted Gamora, who was a little ahead of me. She was beating up all of the guards who tried to attack her with complete ease.

"Woah ... " I muttered. This girl could really kick some ass!

As a guard tried to hit her with his truncheon, she wrapped her leg around his arm in a tight lock. She then pulled her leg downwards, causing his arm to snap. He screamed as she tried to rip the armband from his broken arm.

Suddenly, I saw another guard coming up behind me and ducked into the cover of a cell. Luckily, he didn't notice me, and kept on running. He stopped and pointed his gun at Gamora, who had his back to him and didn't notice he was there. I had seen the guards using these guns before; it was an extremely powerful ray gun. If he shot Gamora with that, she would be fried immediately.

_"Gamora!" _I screamed, running at the guard. She jerked her head around in surprise, as did the guard. I smacked him in the face with the butt of my gun, then shot him several times when he was down. I looked back up and saw Gamora staring at me with wide eyes.

I inhaled sharply, then exhaled. "Get the armband," was all I said to her. She nodded quickly, then bent down over the guard with the broken arm again. In one quick fluid motion, she had torn the armband from his flesh.

"Eww ... " I groaned.

"Let's go." said Gamora.

We both ran to the watch tower, me shooting any guards that tries to stop us. Rocket was still firing madly at all the drones and guards, and didn't notice us.

"ROCKET!" Gamora yelled. He turned to us, and she tossed him the armband.

"Move to the watch tower!" Rocket told Groot. He walked slowly towards the tower, Rocket nonchalantly assembling his device as he did.

"Get on my back." Gamora told me suddenly.

"What?!" I exclaimed.

"Just do it!" said Gamora. I grabbed onto her shoulders as I wrapped my legs around her waist.

"And what is the point of this?" I asked her.

She climbed up onto the railing and looked over to the platform leading to the watch tower.

"You're not serious." I said weakly.

Gamora then sprang forwards.

"HOLY CRAP!" I screamed. But instead of plummeting to our dooms, Gamora somehow managed to make the distance and grab onto the railing on the platform.

"Fuck ..." I whimpered as I slid off Gamora's back. I did _not _want to have to do that again. We both then waited as Groot extended his body, letting Rocket climb up onto the platform beside us. A few seconds later, Quill ran to Groot and began to climb up to us as well.

Suddenly, another drone flew up to Quill. He stared in horror at it for a split second, before Drax ran forward and jumped onto the drone, tearing it to pieces.

_"YOU!" _he called to Quill. "Man who has lain with an A'askavariian!"

"It was one time, man!" Quill complained as he and Drax began to climb Groot.

Once the three of them were up on the platform, we opened the doors to the watch tower. An alarm sounded as the door slowly slid open. The guard inside stared at us in horror as we entered the tower. Groot then reached for him and tossed him over his shoulder.

Once we got in, Rocket began to work with the controls. Gamora than noticed Drax and backed away from him.

"Spare me your foul gaze, woman!" he barked at her.

"Why is this one here?" she asked Quill.

"I promised him he could stay by your side until he kills your boss," said Quill. "And I always keep my promises ... when they're to muscle-bound whackjobs who'll kill me if I don't." He then placed the prosthetic leg beside Rocket. "Here you go."

"Oh, I was just kidding about the leg," said Rocket. "I just need these two things."

"What?!" exclaimed Quill. I snickered loudly.

"I thought it'd be funny! Was it funny?!" snorted Rocket. "What did he look like, hopping around?!"

"I had to transfer him 30, 000 units!" yelled Quill.

Rocket sniggered to himself as he continued with his work.

"It is pretty funny ... " I said with a giggle. Quill gave me a withering look.

"How are we going to leave?" asked Drax as a drone began shooting at the windows of the watch tower.

"He's got a plan," said Quill. "Or is that another thing you _made up?!"_

"I have a plan, I have a plan!" said Rocket.

"This whole expreience has been nothing short of exhausting and annoying." I said, rubbing at my forehead.

"Cease your yammering and release us from this irksome confinement!" snapped Drax, staring around the tower.

"Yeah, I'll have to agree with the walking thesaurus on that one," said Quill sarcastically, only for Drax to give him a cold stare.

"Do not ever call me a thesaurus." he said seriously.

Quill looked confused. "It's just a metaphor, dude."

"What is a 'metaphor'?" asked Drax.

" ... huh?" I asked.

"His people are completely literal!" said Rocket as he contiued working frantically. "Metaphors are gonna go over his head."

"Nothing goes over my head," said Drax proudly. "My reflexes are too fast. I would catch it."

"You people are giving me a migraine!" I announced.

"I'm gonna die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy," said Gamora.

At that point, I found myself unable to disagree with her.

More guards then ran in, each of them holding a ginormous blaster.

"Those are some big guns." said Quill.

"ON MY COMMAND! NUMBER ONE!" yelled their leader as one of the guards fired a blast at us. It exploded against one of the windows and cracked the glass.

"We're doomed." I said weakly. Groot placed his hand on my shoulder comfortingly, and I leaned back against him.

"I am Groot," he told me.

"I sure hope you're right ... " I said.

"Rodent, we are ready for your plan!" said Gamora sharply.

"HOLD ON!" exclaimed Rocket.

"NUMBER TWO!" shouted the leader guard as a second shot was fired, damaging the tower even more.

"I recognise this animal!" said Drax suddenly. "We'd roast them over a flame pit as children. The flesh was quite delicious."

"NOT HELPING!" Rocket yelled at him. I slapped Drax on the arm and glared at him. He looked hurt; he probably hadn't realised that what he'd said was wrong. Still, nobody talks to Rocket like that on my watch!

"NUMBER THREE!" shouted the leader guard as a third shot was fired. Huge cracks appeared in the windows, small pieces of them breaking off. "ALL FIRE ON MY COMMAND!"

Rocket then began to pull at some wires inside the control panel. I gripped onto Groot's hand and squeezed my eyes shut.

"THREE ... "

"Before we die," I said, "I want you guys to know that this has single-handedly been the absoloute worst 24 hours of my life and I'll see you all in Hell."

"TWO ... "

Everyone looked around the tower in a panic.

"ONE!"

Rocket shoved a plug into a socket, and there was a distinct noise of something in the building powering down. Everyone - the guards, the prisoners in their cells - suddenly began to float upwards into the air.

"He turned off the artificial gravity," said Gamora in wonder. "Everywhere but in here." She grinned slightly.

"You," I said to Rocket as I went to stand beside him. "Are a freaking genius."

He gave a proud smirk. "Told ya I had a plan," he said to us. He then pulled a lever, and the watch tower gave a sudden jerk as it lifted up into the air. He pressed some buttons, and the remaining drones flew towards us and connected themselves with the bottom of the watch tower.

Rocket then pushed a handle forward, and the watch tower began to fly downwards. We flew out of the door of the prison. Emergency doors jerked open as we flew forwards at breakneck speed, knocking over some more guards who had run out. We then broke out of the final door, which Rocket closed behind us with the push of a button.

"That was a pretty good plan," said Quill admiringly.

"Huh?" said Rocket with an "I-told-you-so" shrug.

"I'm sorry I ever doubted you," I said to Rocket, giving him a high-five.

Lesson learned: _Always listen to Rocket._


	6. Why Do Weird Things Keep Happening?

_**Here's another chapter! This is probably my favourite one so far. You'll find out why soon enough :) Behold. I am smiling. WE ARE GROOT!**_

* * *

Quill kicked out the broken windows of the watch tower, allowing us to get out. Once we had all escaped, he ran to the window overlooking the prison and pointed out towards the area where the spaceships were kept.

"There it is! Get my ship," he told us. "It's the Milano, the orange and blue one over in the corner."

"They crumpled my pants up into a ball, that's rude!" Rocket complained as the rest of us were getting our stuff from the storage trunks. "They FOLDED yours!"

"While I sympathise with your predicament, Rocket, I think we have bigger problems." I told him as I packed my clothes and weapons into a bag. I shoved one of my guns into the waistband of my trousers in case we ran into any guards.

We were all about to leave when Quill suddenly said "Wait, wait, wait, wait!"

"What?!" Gamora demanded.

"That bastard didn't put it back!" said Quill, pulling his stuff out of the trunk.

"Put what back?" Gamora asked.

"Quill, we are fugitives running from the law," I told him. "Hurry the Hell up already!"

Quill then shoved his stuff into Gamora's arms. "Here," he told her. "Get them to the ship. I'll be right back."

"How are you gonna possibly -"

"Just keep the Milano close by!" said Quill, running off into the prison. "Go. Go!"

Gamora sighed in exasperation as we both turned towards the exit.

"He's a very stupid man," I said.

"I noticed," said Gamora dryly.

Once we got to Quill's ship, we charged on board. Rocket got into the driver's seat and was about to take off when he noticed the absent member.

"Wait, where's Quill?!" he said in confusion.

"We don't know," I replied. "He said to wait for him outside the Kyln. Go!"

Rocket shrugged, rolling his eyes, and I distinctly heard him mutter "stupid humie" before he started the ship's engine and took off.

Once we got outside the prison, we waited in a wide open spot - easy for Quill to see us, but also easy for any Nova Corps to see us as well.

"How's he gonna get to us?!" Rocket exclaimed.

"He declined to share that information with us," replied Gamora. Rocket scoffed.

"Well, screw this then!" he said. "Can't wait around for some humie with a death wish. You got the Orb, right?"

"Yes," said Gamora, opening the bag Quill had given her. When she sat back and sighed with exasperation several seconds later, I realised that Quill had tricked us.

"I should have known we couldn't trust him!" she exclaimed angrily, throwing aside the bag.

"Well, maybe _he _knew that _we _couldn't be trusted," I said quietly.

We waited for another very uncomfortable few minutes. We knew that the longer we waited here, the more likely the chance we would be discovered and taken down by Nova. We were sitting ducks out here.

"If we don't leave now, we WILL be blown to bits!" said Rocket.

"NO!" Gamora shouted at him. "We're not leaving without the Orb!"

"Well, the Orb's not gonna be of much use to us if we're DEAD, now is it?!" I snapped at Gamora. She frowned and opened her mouth, probably to yell some more, but I spoke over her as I addressed Rocket. "Rocket, we have to leave. I'm sure Quill will understand." I felt horrible for even thinking it - I hadn't known Quill long, but I still considered him a friend of some sorts. But Rocket was right - if we stayed for much longer, we'd be discovered and shot down.

However, it turned out that we didn't need to abandon Quill after all, as Drax suddenly glanced out the window and said "Behold." A figure in a silver mask dressed in Ravager clothes was flying towards us with rocket boots.

"It's about damn time!" I said as Gamora and Drax helped Quill into the ship. "And did you seriously _change your clothes?!"_

"Do not berate him, Solo!" said Drax as he proudly clapped Quill on the back. "He shows spirit. He shall make a keen ally in the battle against Ronan! Companion, what were you retrieving?"

Wordlessly, Quill handed him the ear muffs and the strange musical box the blue guard had taken from him the day before. Drax stared after him incredulously.

"You're an imbecile."

* * *

It was pretty quiet aboard the Milano. We all left one another alone and went about our business: Gamora was looking around Quill's ship, Drax was sitting silently by himself, Quill was doing God know's what, and Groot was off being Groot; probably wandering aimlessly around the ship and breaking various items. Rocket and I were sitting at the table together, me messing around with the Orb because I had nothing else to do.

"I am bored," Rocket finally said. "Brain-numbingly bored."

"So then do something," I replied, focusing on throwing the Orb up into the air and catching it.

"Do what, though?"

"Dunno," I shrugged. "Blow up moons?"

Rocket's face lit up as he grinned. "Y'know ... That ain't such a bad idea."

"I was being sarcastic, ya know," I told him.

"Don't care, still doin' it." said Rocket, getting up and opening up his tool kit. "Care to join me?"

"Ah, what the Hell," I said, putting down the Orb. "It's not like I've got anything better to do anyway. But I'd better change first."

I went to the bathroom - which was absolutely disgusting, by the way - and changed out of my prison uniform and into my regular attire. Once I came back, I found Rocket sitting amid a pile of parts that he was piecing together.

"Where'd you get those?" I asked him.

"Found 'em," he shrugged. I decided not to question him and sat down.

"So, what is it I'm supposed to be doing here?" I asked, sifting through several parts.

"Hey, I've taught you how to make plenty of weapons and crap over the years," said Rocket, handing me a wrench. "Go nuts."

I picked up some parts that I recognised and got to work, creating a small, simple, yet very powerful bomb that Rocket had taught me to make when I was younger. It wasn't quite as simple as I remembered, though - I found myself unable to keep it together. No matter how many times I tried to screw the pieces together, they kept collapsing into halves in my hands.

"Dammit!" I cursed, throwing down my wrench in frustration. Rocket glanced up from his own invention and saw what I was trying to do.

"Show me what you're doin'," he said, handing me back the wrench. "I'll see if yer doin' anything wrong."

I picked up the wrench again and attempted to tighten my screws. However, I couldn't get the wrench to turn. I pulled at it until my knuckles went pink, but it wouldn't budge an inch.

"Look, see, yer pullin' it too hard," said Rocket, putting his hand over mine and giving it a gentle pull so the wrench twisted. "There ya go. It should keep together now."

"Thanks," I murmured, suddenly painfully aware that Rocket's hand was over mine. I felt my face heat up and quickly pulled my hand away, hoping he wouldn't notice.

"Er .. Solo?" he asked me. "Why are you blushing?"

_Crap._

"I am not!" I denied, turning away quickly.

"You've gone indigo," he pointed out.

"Oh, I see what you're doing here!" I said quickly, leaning across Rocket to point at the ... whatever the Hell it was that he was making. "It's, uh, a bomb?"

"Wow, how did you ever guess?" said Rocket sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Luckily for me, he dropped the whole blushing thing and went right back to work.

Quill then came up to us.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Yo! Ranger Rick!" he said indignantly. "What are you _doing?! _You can't take apart my ship without asking me!"

"Oh, so _that's _where you got the parts!" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, I was gonna ask!" Rocket defended. "I just ... y'know, didn't want to."

"See, what is this?!" Quill asked as he bent down to pick up one of the inventions Rocket had made.

"Don't touch that," said Rocket, pulling him back. "It's a bomb."

"A _bomb?!" _repeated Quill incredulously. "And you leave it lying around?!"

"I was gonna put it in a box!" said Rocket.

_"What's a box gonna do?!" _Quill all but screeched.

Rocket slid open a drawer and removed a small package wrapped in brightly coloured paper.

"What is that, a birthday present?" I asked.

"Looks like it," shrugged Rocket. "I'll use this one."

"No! Whoa, HEY!" yelled Quill, knocking the present out of Rocket's hand and back into the drawer. "Leave it alone!"

"Why, what - "

"Shut. Up!"

"Hey!" said Rocket, looking almost hurt.

Quill then pointed to a large gun lying amid all the parts. "What's that?" he asked.

"That's for if things get _really _hardcore," said Rocket with a sly smirk. "Or if you wanna blow up moons."

"No one's blowing up moons." said Gamora sharply.

"Oh, you just wanna suck the joy out of everything." muttered Rocket in disappointment.

I tossed my bomb aside and picked the Orb up again. I wondered why people were making such a big deal out of a metal sphere the size of my fist. There must have been something pretty damn valuable inside it, to be worth five billion units. Curiously, I screwed it open and saw a small gemstone inside, about the size of my thumbnail. It was a purplish-pink colour and was glowing.

"Pretty ... " I muttered, suddenly filled with a burning desire to touch it. My fingers were inches from it when I suddenly shook my head, getting back to my senses, and slammed the lid back onto the Orb. I didn't know why, but I knew that whatever that gemstone was, it was dangerous. I put the Orb back down and focused on my surroundings.

"I'd trust you a lot more if you told me what this was," said Quill, picking up the Orb. "'Cause I'm guessing it's some kind of weapon." He put it back down, only for Drax to pick it up.

"I don't know what it is," said Gamora.

"If it is a weapon, we should use it against Ronan!" said Drax.

"Put it down, you fool!" said Gamora angrily. "You'll destroy us all."

"Or just you, _murderess!" _Drax spat.

"I let you live _once, _Princess!" yelled Gamora, getting up in his face.

"I am _not a PRINCESS!" _Drax shouted back. I would have laughed had the situation not been so dire. I shoved myself between them and pushed them away from each other.

"All right, break it up!" I demanded. "Look, like it or not, we're stuck together until we sell this stupid Orb, and let me tell you, you two bickering like teenage girls is _not _making it any easier!" They seemed surprised that I had spoken up, but didn't say anything to me.

"She's right," Quill agreed. "We have to stick together until we get the money."

"I have no interest in _money." _said Drax coldly, tossing him the Orb.

"Great," said Quill as he walked away. "That means more money for the four of us." Groot then looked at him sadly, holding up his arms in a "what-about-me" gesture. Quill sighed. _"Five _of us," he corrected himself. "Partners."

"We have an agreement," said Gamora. "But I would never be partners with the likes of you.I'll tell the buyer we're on our way." She turned to go up on deck, but before she did, she turned to Quill again and said "Oh, and Quill? Your ship? It's _filthy."_

"Jesus, what crawled up her butt and died?" I muttered as she went upstairs.

Quill snickered. "Oh, she has no idea," he said with a smirk. "If I had a black light? Place would look like a Jackson Pollock painting."

Rocket seemed to understand what he said, as he gave him a look of disgust and said "You got issues, Quill."

"What's he mean?" I asked Rocket.

"Sweetheart, trust me," said Rocket. "You do _not _want to know."

* * *

We had been in the ship for several more hours, and I was bored to tears. All my stuff - my books, my other weapons, everything - had been on our ship, and I was starting to think that we'd never see the damn thing again. Still, with the three billion units we were about to get, we'd have more than enough to buy a new ship and replace all our things. Still, though, that thing had been my home for nearly 12 years. I was sad to see it go.

"Heads up!" Rocket suddenly called from the pilot's chair. "We're inbound!"

Quill came up from downstairs, and the six of us looked out at what lay before us.

"Oh, crap," I muttered. "Not _here."_

We were beside Knowhere, a place that I had only been once, but I never wanted to visit again. The last time I had been there was an experience that I hope to never repeat. _EVER. _

"Whoa ... " breathed Quill.

"What is it?" asked Drax.

"It's called Knowhere," replied Gamora. "The severed head of an ancient celestial being."

"Y'know, I hear that it's still alive," I said. Quill shuddered slightly.

"Cree-py," he muttered.

"Be wary headed in, rodent," said Gamora to Rocket as she sat down. "There are no regulations whatsoever here."

I saw Rocket tense up at her words and shot Gamora a withering glance. I knew that Rocket _hated _being called names like that - any implication that he was any less of a person than we were. A drunken man in a bar had once made the mistake of referring to Rocket as a "big old rat", and it had taken me, Groot and two bartenders to hold Rocket back from blowing that douche's brains out.

"He has a name, you know," I hissed at Gamora. "It's _Rocket. _Call him "rodent" again and I'll make sure you regret it."

I thought that Gamora would simply ignore me, like she usually did, but instead she drew herself up to her full height and slowly turned to face me. Her face was completely, terrifyingly blank of emotion. I was suddenly aware of how much taller she was than me - I had to tilt my head right back to be able to look her in the eye. Even so, I stood my ground and glared right at her - I couldn't let her intimidate me.

"Listen to me, _girl," _she all but snarled, refusing to break eye contact with me, "I take orders from _nobody. _Do not make me do something I will regret."

My blood boiled. How _dare _she! Rocket had just broken her out of prison, I had just _saved her goddamn life, _and she was still treating us like nothing. I stood on my toes and stretched myself up to my full height.

"And _you _listen to _me!" _I spat, walking forwards so that she was forced to walk backwards. "You may be able to whip my butt in a fight without even breaking a sweat, but I am still ten times the person you'll ever be! You are mean, and disrespectful, and _cruel! _Yeah, I might be an uncaring, selfish thug, but at least I don't treat people the way you do! At least I'm not a _murderer!"_

I knew then that I had crossed a line. Gamora growled and shoved me hard, pressing me up against the wall.

"You think that I actually _wanted _to kill any of those people?!" she yelled in my face. "You think that I wouldn't have left them alone if I could?! You think - "

"Whoa, whoa, _WHOA!" _exclaimed Quill, pulling Gamora away from me. "Alright, break it up! Nobody is killing anybody on my ship!"

Gamora glowered at me, before stalking off back towards her chair and sitting down. My knees still shaking slightly, I went over to sit beside Rocket.

"Hey," he said to me. "You all right?"

I nodded.

"Look, don't do that again," said Rocket. "I appreciate you sticking up for me, sweetheart, but I ain't worth it."

"Yes, you are," I replied firmly. "You are to me."

He gave me a small half-smile. "Thanks," he said.

"Don't mention it," I said, smiling back. I felt my cheeks flush again for some reason, and turned away quickly before Rocket noticed.

"Hundreds of years ago, the Tivan Group sent worker in to mine the organic matter within the skull." Gamora continued telling us about Knowhere as we flew farther in. "All rare resources, highly valued in black markets across the galaxy." She continued with her explanation even as we landed the Milano and went out into Knowhere. "It's dangerous and illegal work, suited only for outlaws." I noticed that she glanced at Quill in particular when she said this.

"Well, I come from a planet of outlaws," smirked Quill. "Billy the Kid, Bonnie and Clyde, John Stamos ... "

"It sounds like a place which I would like to visit," said Drax interestedly.

"You should," replied Quill.

A group of dirty-faced beggar children then ran through our group, asking for units. I felt bad for them, but Quill simply said "Watch your wallets" and pushed past them. Ignoring him, I took several five-unit notes out of my pocket and handed one each to the kids.

"Don't spend it all on candy," I told one little girl sternly. She giggled and even gave me a hug. I was surprised at first, but then returned the hug. "Thank you, miss," the girl said to me, grinning broadly. Before she left, Groot held out his hand and a small blue flower grew from it. He plucked it and handed it to her. She took it and gave a small smile. I could tell that she wasn't entirely satisfied with the flower, but she was too polite to say so.

"Your buyer's in there?" said Rocket to Gamora; we were outside a crowded bar with blaring lights and a bunch of drunk people fighting outside.

"We are to wait here for his representative," replied Gamora.

"This is no respectable establishment!" said Drax indignantly. "What do you expect us to do while we wait?!"

Rocket snickered into his hand. "Follow me," he said to Drax, taking his arm. "I'll show ya."

* * *

I sighed as I watched Drax and Rocket get drunk and bet on this horrible game where small lizards had to escape a larger lizard who would eat them if it caught them. I really didn't know why people found this entertaining; maybe you just had to be drunk. Groot, at least, seemed to find the "game" as barbaric as I did. I looked around the crowded bar; Quill was in the bathroom, and Gamora was outside on the balcony. I sighed guiltily as I thought of our earlier argument; I had probably gone too far with that "murderer" remark. I decided to apologize.

I walked out onto the balcony and cleared my throat. "Hey, Gamora?" I said questioningly. She turned around.

"Yes?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing," I replied. "Just thought I'd join you, is all. Is that all right?"

Gamora simply shrugged, and I presumed that was a yes. I stood beside her, leaning against the railing.

"Listen," I said to her. "I'm sorry about what I said to you, on the ship. I think I went too far, and I apologize for that."

Gamora was silent for a moment. She had probably never expected for me to say sorry.

"It's fine," she finally replied. "And I'm sorry too, for what I said about Rocket."

"S'okay," I said. "You probably didn't know how sensitive he is to stuff like that."

There was a long silence. Gamora finally broke it.

"Why did you do it?" she asked suddenly.

"Huh?" I asked, confused.

"In the Kyln," Gamora replied. "That guard was about to shoot me, and you stopped him. You saved my life. Why?"

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. To tell the truth, I didn't know what to tell her. Why _had _I saved her life? Was it for the units? Though I didn't think it was just about that.

"Does it really matter _why _I did it?" I finally said.

"Yes, it does," said Gamora firmly. "You don't like me. I've done nothing for you. So why would you want to save my life?"

"Because ... " I said, "Because I don't want to watch anyone die. I don't want to stand by and let it happen when innocent people are killed. Not again ... " I turned my head away.

"Again?" repeated Gamora.

I sighed. _I guess there's no going back now._

"My family," I said. "When Thanos invaded my planet, we were going to escape in a ship my father had built. But ... we were too late. I watched as they killed my parents ... as my sister got taken ... I could have tried to save them, but I saved my own sorry ass instead. And not a day goes by when I don't fucking hate myself for it!" I took a sharp intake of breath as I finished my sentence loudly. "So you see, I couldn't let that happen again. I just couldn't. And that's why I stopped that guard."

Gamora stared at me, her dark eyes wide. "I'm sorry for what Thanos did to your planet." she said softly. "I suppose I can see why you dislike me so much now. I would as well."

I gave a small smile. "Well, it it makes you feel any better, you don't seem to be very like him," I said. "I guess 'Like father, like daughter' isn't always true."

I had meant this as a compliment, but from the look Gamora gave me, I could tell that it was the opposite.

"He's _NOT _my father." she said coldly. "When I was a little girl, Thanos took over my home world. He killed my family in front of me. He was going to kill me as well, but instead he decided to 'adopt' me. He tortured me ... He turned me into a weapon. And if that wasn't bad enough, he sold me and two of my sisters to Ronan. I _hate _him."

I stared at Gamora. _Well, _I thought, _My respect for this woman just got a whole lot bigger._

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," I told her, placing my hand on her shoulder. "Boy, that makes what _I _went through look like a dream in comparison. It looks like we aren't so different after all ... "

"No, I suppose not ... " Gamora agreed. We both stared off into space for a little bit, before she spoke up again.

"Hey, why aren't you throwing alcohol down your throat like the rest of the idiots?" she asked, nodding towards the bar.

"Ralaarians don't drink," I replied. "Like, our bodies don't process alcohol. It would be just like drinking water. It still tastes like piss, though, so I don't drink it."

"I can't say I blame you," Gamora said with a slight smile. I moved to lean back against the railing, but I slipped on a puddle of water (at least I hope it was water) and had to grab onto the railing to avoid falling. Something slipped out of my pocket and nearly went over the edge of the balcony, but Gamora caught it in time.

"Thanks," I said, reaching for whatever it was. Gamora didn't hand it back, though; she was frowning at it.

"Is this your family?" she asked, holding it out into the light. I realised that it was the picture of me, my parents and my sister Scarlett that I always carried around with me.

"Yeah, that's them," I replied. "Why?"

She tapped my sister's face on the picture. "Who is this?" she asked.

"That's my older sister," I replied with a frown. "Why?"

"Nothing ... " said Gamora, handing me back the picture. "She just looks ... familiar, that's all."

I frowned as I took the picture back. How did Gamora find Scarlett familiar? She had been dead for nearly twelve years. Maybe she was just confusing her with someone else?

"Well, it was nice talking with you," I said to Gamora. "I'm gonna go back inside. Do you want me to bring you anything?" She shook her head. "No, thank you," she said. "I expect we'll be meeting with my buyer shortly."

I nodded, going back into the bar. I was immediately greeted by a very drunk Rocket, who was holding a half-empty shot in his hand and laughing uproariously, and Quill, who had his hand on Rocket's shoulder.

"Uh, can you deal with him?" Quill asked, shoving Rocket towards me. Before I could answer, he had already gone out onto the balcony to join Gamora.

I glanced at Rocket concernedly - now that I was paying proper attention, I noticed that he wasn't _that _drunk. He had probably only had a few shots. Still, I needed to sit him down somewhere before he did something stupid and got us all landed in jail. _Again._

"Here, Rocket," I said, sitting him down beside Groot and Drax at their booth. "Stay here with the guys, OK?"

Rockets's only reply was to laugh some more and spill some more of his drink on himself. Rolling my eyes, I went off to the bathroom, hoping he wouldn't do something he'd regret.

* * *

Sadly, he did.

When I returned from the bathroom, I found that the bar had crowded themselves around something. Recognising a bar fight when I saw one, I pushed through the crowd until I got to the center, and gasped. Rocket and Drax were there, screaming abuse at one another. Groot was there, too, and looked angry enough to kill.

What the fuck had happened in the three minutes I had been in the toilet?!

" - I refuse to take this abuse from a piece of _filth _like yourself!" Drax was hollering at Rocket. "You _vermin!"_

He had gone too far. Rocket screamed something I couldn't decipher, before removing the gun from his back and aiming it at Drax. Before he could do anything, however, Groot tackled him, sending him across the table.

"GROOT, _NO!" _I yelled, running towards them. Drax got on top of Groot and began to pummel him. Groot wrapped vines around Drax's head and neck and attempted to pull him off. Drax, however, pulled free and continued to hit Groot with bone-crushing force.

"STOP IT!" I screamed, and before I knew what I was doing, I had punched Drax hard in the face. He glowered at me, before leaping off of Groot and wrapping his hands around my neck. I choked and kicked at him, and then we were both on the ground, punching one another. Drax rolled on top of me, grabbed me by the head and slammed it into the ground. I screamed out, kicking my legs, but he simply slammed my head into the ground again.

Over my screams and the cheers of the crowd - They were actually _throwing money at us - _, I could hear Rocket snarl _"You get your fuckin' hands OFF OF HER!", _before Drax was suddenly lifted off of me. I gasped and choked, rubbing at the back of my head, and saw Quill in front of me. Gamora was there, too, holding Drax back.

"Whoa, WHOA!" Quill yelled at Rocket, who had his gun ready to fire at Drax. "What are you _DOING?!"_

"This _vermin _speaks of affairs he knows nothing about!" said Drax.

"That is true!" said Rocket.

"He has no respect!"

"That is _also _true!" Rocket snarled.

"Hold on, hold on!" yelled Quill, trying to stop Rocket from shooting Drax.

"Keep callin' me 'vermin', tough guy!" yelled Rocket. "You just wanna laugh at me like everyone else!" Groot then grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled up against him, as if trying to shield me from the fight. The back of my head throbbed angrily.

"Rocket, you're drunk, all right?" said Quill calmly to Rocket. "No one's laughing at you."

"He thinks I'm some stupid thing, he does!" snapped Rocket, sounding close to tears. "Well, I didn't ask to get made! I didn't ask to be _torn apart _and _put back together over and over _and turned into some ... some little _MONSTER!"_

I couldn't stand this any more. I felt so awful for Rocket that I was close to crying myself, and I never cry. I learned a long time ago that crying doesn't solve your problems.

"Rocket, you're not a monster!" I gasped, trying to run to him, but Groot held me back firmly.

"He called me 'vermin'!" yelled Rocket, pointing at Drax. "She called me 'rodent'!" He pointed to Gamora. "You're probably the only person I've met who doesn't treat me like _shit, _and I'm SICK OF IT!" then raised his gun again, pointing it at Drax. "Let's see if you can laugh after five or six good shots to _your frickin' FACE!"_

_"STOP IT!" _I screamed, pulling myself free of Groot's grip and slapping Rocket across the face.

"Ow!" he exclaimed. "What was _that _for?!"

"Don't you ever, _ever, _call yourself a monster again!" I cried out. "Rocket, you're damn near the best person I know! You're funny, and you're smart, and you're a really great guy, and you are no less of a person than I am! And if anyone ever says otherwise, then I will kick their asses so hard that their kids will be born with footprints!"

Rocket gave me a long, hard look then. It was a strange look; he was looking at me as if he'd never really seen me before. It made me feel very strange; a good strange. It made my face flush again.

_God, why does he make me feel this way?!_

And without warning, Rocket's arms were suddenly around my neck.

His hands were in my hair.

And he was _kissing me._

I was too surprised to do anything but sit there in shock as Rocket pressed his mouth against mine. He tasted like alcohol and sweat and fur, and the weirdest thing? I was _enjoying it._

I was _kissing him back._

After what felt like a long time, we broke apart. I sat back, bewildered, as Rocket turned away.

_"What," _I finally said, _"The Hell. Was THAT?!"_

He didn't answer me. I put my hand to my mouth, trying to figure out what just happened. Quill, Gamora, Drax and Groot were all staring at me in confusion, not to mention the rest of the bar.

"The fuck are you all lookin' at, huh?!" Rocket suddenly yelled at the crowd. "Go on, beat it!" They did, hastily.

"We have travelled halfway across the _quadrant," _Drax suddenly spat, "And Ronan is no closer to being dead." He pushed Gamora away from him, before storming off.

"Drax!" Quill called after him.

"Let him go," said Gamora. "We don't need him."

Groot then bent over me, offering me his hand.

"I am Groot?" he inquired.

"I don't know," I said hoarsley, letting him pull me up.

I was still trying to wrap my head around what had just happened. I had just had my first kiss with my drunken best friend in front of a huge crowd of people, including the guy who had just tried to kill me and my other best friend, mere seconds after said best friend had gone into a tangent about his life, which he had never shared with me or Groot before.

But it seemed I didn't have time to absorb the situation, as at that moment, a pink-skinned woman in a white dress then entered the bar.

"Milady Gamora," she said. "I'm here to fetch you for my master."

It seemed we were finally about to meet this mysterious buyer.

* * *

_**Well, how was that? I honestly cried at that scene when I first saw it. I wanted to reach into my screen and hug Rocket so badly. You are not a monster, Rocket! Anyway, please leave a review and tell me what you think of the story so far!**_


	7. The Infinity Stone

_**OK, here's another update. Enjoy it!**_

* * *

The five of us followed the pink woman as she lead us along a corridor that seemed to go on forever. None of us said anything to one another as we walked closer and closer towards getting paid. Gamora was at the head of the pack, closely followed by Quill, who looked as though he wanted to say something to her, but knew she would just ignore him. Then there was Rocket, slouching along behind them with a surly expression on his face. He wouldn't even look at me. Groot and I brought up the rear, the two of us falling into step with one another. He was being unusually quiet, but then again, so was everyone else. Even the pink woman didn't speak much.

I found that my eyes kept darting to Rocket's figure in front of me. I glared at him as I shoved my hands into my jacket pockets.

_"Stupid jerk," _I thought bitterly to myself. _"He rams his tongue down my throat, then doesn't even freaking _look _at me afterwards. Bastard ... " _But even as I continued glaring, I felt my hurt and anger ebb away. No matter what he does, I always find it impossible to stay mad at Rocket for long.

Eventually, the pink woman lead us to a huge room filled with glass display cases. Inside the cases were a number of strange artifacts that I'd never seen before.

"OK," said Rocket. "This isn't creepy at all."

One case that caught my eye especially was one that contained a weird furry creature wearing some weird white suit with a glass bowl on its head. I walked closer to the case, cocking my head in confusion as I stared at the creature.

"What the Hell is that thing?" I asked to nobody in particular.

"It's Hella ugly, is what it is," said Rocket suddenly from beside me. I jumped slightly in surprise, as I hadn't noticed he was there. He glared at the creature, his hackles raised. The creature raised its own hackles and growled at him. Rocket growled back.

"I think it's cute," I shrugged, turning away from the case to look around some more. Rocket glared at the creature some more before joining me.

"We house the galaxy's largest collection of fauna, relics and species of all manner," the pink woman told us, leading us further into the room. Standing beside a long table in the middle of the room was a tall man with whitish hair and a weird furry coat who had his back to us. "I present to you, Taneleer Tivan: The Collector." the woman introduced.

The man slowly turned around and surveyed us through a very weird pair of glasses that stuck out from his face. I could tell that these probably weren't meant to improve his eyesight.

He slowly stepped towards Gamora. "My dear Gamora," he said, bringing her hand to his lips, "How wonderful to meet you in the flesh."

"Let's bypass the formalities, Tivan," said Gamora coldly. "We have what we discussed."

However, Tivan's eyes had strayed over Gamora's shoulder towards ... me?

"Is that ... " he said slowly. "A Ralaarian?" He moved away from Gamora and walked towards me, studying me closely. "I thought you were extinct ... " he murmured. "I must ask; may I perhaps add your corpse to my collection? After your passing, of course." He moved his hand to rest on my cheek.

_OK ... This isn't creepy at all._

I stepped back smartly away from him. "Thank you, Mr Tivan," I said through a forced smile, "But I'm afraid I'll have to decline."

"Are you quite certain?" Tivan pressed. "Because I would pay a handsome price ... "

_WHAT GOOD IS MONEY TO A DEAD PERSON?!_

Before I could punch Tivan's creepy head off, Rocket stepped in front of me and pushed me back.

"Hey, she said _no, _all right?!" he snapped. "Leave her alone." I felt a sudden rush of affection for him.

Tivan glanced condescendingly down at Rocket, then back at me. "That your pet?"

_"WHAT?!" _demanded Rocket, reaching for his gun. I quickly clamped my hand down on his shoulder and shot Tivan a death glare.

"No." I told him. "He's my friend, _actually." _I said the last part through gritted teeth, narrowing my eyes at Tivan until he stepped away.

"Tivan," said Gamora. "We have been halfway across the galaxy, retrieving this Orb."

"Very well then," said Tivan, "Let us see what you brought."

Quill then took the Orb out of his jacket and held it out to Tivan. I could tell he was trying to look cool while doing it - however, the effect was kind of ruined as he dropped the Orb. I snickered as he caught it and handed it to Tivan.

"Shut up," he muttered at me, blushing slightly.

Tivan set the Orb in a strange contraption that slowly twisted the halves open.

"Oh, my new friends," he said to us as strange holograms appeared above us. "Before creation itself, there were six singularities. Then the universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated ingots." The holograms above us displayed this happening, and at the end, there were six gemstones glowing different colours. "Infinity Stones."

The Orb continued to twist itself open. The small gemstone inside, which must have been one of these stones Tivan was telling us about, was revealed.

"These Stones, it seems, can only be brandished by beings of extraordinary strength," Tivan continued. I noticed Groot messing around with a hologram, and Rocket looking both bored and skeptical. I wasn't too sure what to make of the situation. "Observe." Tivan pointed to a hologram just behind us that we all looked at. It displayed some gigantic bronze monster thingy holding a staff that must have contained the Stone. He touched the staff to the ground, and all the people running from him - and even the planet itself - were instantly vaporised. A shiver ran down my spine and out of habit, I found myself clutching Rocket's wrist. He glanced up at me concernedly.

"These carriers can use the Stone to mow down entire civilizations like wheat in a field." said Tivan.

"There's a little pee coming out of me right now," whispered Quill. I would have laughed, had I not been so scared.

_And to think I almost picked that thing up ... _

"Once, for a moment, a group was able to share the energy amongst themselves, but even they were quickly destroyed by it." continued Tivan, as an image of a group of people being disintegrated by the Stone appeared. I let out a little whimpering noise that sounded similar to Rocket whenever someone stepped on his tail.

The Orb then opened up completely, revealing the Stone. Immediately, I felt the almost overwhelming urge to reach out and grab it.

_So much power ..._

Shaking my head quickly, I looked up and saw Tivan's assistant staring at the Stone. She looked confused, yet determined. Shrugging, I glanced away from her at Tivan.

_"Beautiful,"_ said Tivan, shaking his arms in delight and gesturing towards the Stone. "Beyond compare ... "

"Blah, blah, blah!" interrupted Rocket. "We're all very ..." He imitated Tivan, "_Fa__scinated, _Whitey, but we'd like to get paid!"

The holograms died away. "How would you like to get paid?"

"What do you think, Fancy Pants?!" snapped Rocket. _"Units!"_

"Very well," said Tivan, sliding open a drawer. I then noticed that Tivan's assistant was stepping closer and closer towards the Stone, staring at it with a sense of fascination.

"Carina," said Tivan sternly upon noticing this. "Stand back!"

Carina looked at him with hatred. "I will no longer be your slave!" she screamed.

_"NO!" _yelled Tivan. But it was too late - Carina had already grabbed the Stone.

The result was immediate - sparks began to fly from the Stone, knocking all of us backwards. I sat up from where I had fallen, only to see Carina being slowly disintegrated by the Stone's energy. Purple cracks began to form on her skin and slowly spread upwards. Chunks crumbled off of her face, leaving only glowing purple flesh. I wasn't sure if the piercing scream I heard was mine or hers.

More sparks began to fly as my eyes darted madly around the room, trying to figure out where to go and what to do. I saw Rocket crawling on the floor, hacking and coughing, as Groot scooped him up and turned to me. Through the haze of purple fog, I held out my hand towards them. My lips were shaping their names when Carina was completely vaporised and the Stone exploded.

* * *

_"MOM!"_

_The figure dressed in all-black armour laughed as he pulled the sword from my mother's stomach. Her body fell limply to the ground, blood oozing out of the stab wound. He then turned, sword raised, to my father. Several ore men and women dressed like him ran through the broken-down door and surrounded my father and sister. _

_"DAD! SCARLETT!"_

_I pounded on the windows of the escape pod and screamed their names. Dad had told me to stay on the pod no matter what happened, but I couldn't just stay in there and watch as my family were killed. I wrenched open the door of the pod and looked out, only to see Dad be completely overpowered by Thanos's minions. Scarlett, however, had managed to get free, and was running towards me, the one who had killed our mother in hot pursuit._

_"HURRY!"_

_I lunged towards her, and she reached towards me. I was about to grab her hand and pull her on board when the minion grabbed hold of Scarlett and pulled her back. _

_"SCARLETT!" I screamed, but my feet stayed frozen in place. Scarlett struggled against the minion, her red hair hitting him weakly in the face, but ultimately he was too strong._

_"Go!" Scarlett screamed at me as he continued to pull her away. "GO!"_

_"I'M SORRY!" I managed to cry out, before running back inside and slamming my hand down on the emergency takeoff button. The escape pod immediately shot upwards. I looked out the window again just before the pod got out of the bunker, and saw my dad and Scarlett being dragged away. I screamed their names one last time, before I collapsed on the floor of the escape pod and began to sob._

* * *

"Ugh ... "

_My head ... Where am I? What happened?_

_"I AM GROOT!"_

"She's waking up?! Solo, can you hear me?!"

_Groot ... Rocket? Is that you?_

"I am Groot!"

"Whadda ya mean, she's not breathing?! Oh shit, what are we gonna do?!"

"I am GROOT!"

I then felt some pressure and light pain on my chest, and I was able to breathe again. I lay there on the ground, choking.

"R - Rocket?" I whispered. "Groot?"

"Yeah, it's us," I heard Rocket say.

My eyes slowly opened. Every part of my body ached. I groaned and gingerly tried to sit up. Big mistake. My insides constricted horribly, and I immediately leaned over and puked up my breakfast. Hacking and coughing, I leaned back and saw that I was outside the bar, Groot kneeling in front of me and Rocket beside me with his hand on my shoulder.

"Jesus, are you OK?" Rocket asked in a surprisingly gentle voice, rubbing my back a little. The gesture calmed me down a little, but I was still very freaked out.

"W - what happened?" I managed to choke out. "Last thing I remember was Carina grabbing the Stone, and then ... it's all hazy after that."

"We don't really know what happened," said Rocket. "The Stone's power killed that girl, and then there was an explosion. You got caught up in it. It probably would have killed you if Groot hadn't grabbed you in time."

"A - and what about Gamora?" I asked, "Quill? Tivan?"

"I am Groot," said Groot.

"I didn't see them either." said Rocket.

As if on cue, Gamora and Quill exited the bar with worried expressions on their faces. But that wasn't what I noticed - it was that Gamora had the Orb clutched in her fist.

_"WHAT DO YOU STILL HAVE IT FOR?!" _shouted Rocket.

"Well, what was I gonna do?" said Quill. "Just leave it in there?"

"I can't believe you had _that _in your purse!" yelled Rocket, pointing at the Orb.

"It's not a purse!" said Quill indignantly. "It's a knapsack!"

"Oh, will you both please just SHUT UP!" I yelled over them. They fell silent and looked at me. "You've seen what that thing can do. We have to keep it away from Ronan!"

"Oh, who cares?!" snapped Rocket. "Let's just give it to him!"

"So he can destroy the galaxy with it?!" yelled Quill.

"Oh, what, are you some saint all of a sudden?" said Rocket sarcastically. "What's the galaxy ever done for you? Why would you wanna save it?"

"Because I'm one of the idiots who _LIVES IN IT!" _Quill retorted.

"Peter, LISTEN TO ME!" said Gamora to Quill. In the back of my mind, I wondered when she'd started calling him by his first name. "We cannot allow the Stone to fall into Ronan's hands. We have to give it to Nova. There's a chance they can contain it!"

"Yeah, I think you're right," said Quill. _" ... Or, _we could give it to someone who's _not _going to arrest us and who's _really _nice for a whole lot of money."

Gamora stepped away from him in disgust. I looked at Quill, incredulous. How could he be so cold?

"Hey, I think it's a really good balance of both your points," said Quill.

"You're despicable." said Gamora coldly. "Dishonorable. _FAITHLESS!"_

"She's right," I said to Quill, glaring at him. "You're an asshole."

"Oh, no!" I suddenly heard Gamora say. For the first time since I'd met her, she actually sounded scared. I turned around and my jaw dropped.

Before us was Drax, standing with his back to us, holding knives and laughing. But that wasn't the scary part.

We were surrounded by ships. Ronan's fleet, to be exact.

"Oh, holy crap," I said weakly, standing up shakily.

As if that wasn't bad enough, we suddenly heard a yell.

"QUILL! Don't you move, boy! Don't you move!"

It was Yondu Udonta and the Ravagers, making their way towards us.

Rocket grabbed me by the hand.

"RUN!" he yelled. And we did. The five of us, together, running from a band of intergalactic highwaymen and a genocidal maniac. Who only wanted to kill us in the first place because of a freaking rock.

_My life is so goddamn weird._

Eventually, we reached several small pods that the citizens of Knowhere used to get around. Gamora, Quill and Rocket all climbed into one.

"I told you, you can't fit!" Rocket said to Groot. "Now wait here, I'll be back." He turned to me. "You, stay here with Groot."

_"WHAT?!" _I exclaimed. "But Rocket - "

_"NO." _he said fiercely. "Solo, it's way too dangerous. I'm not gonna let you put yourself in danger like that. Wait here with Groot, he'll protect you. We'll get the Milano and be back here soon." Before I could argue any further, he climbed into his pod and flew off.

Angry at how overprotective he was being, I made towards a pod, but Groot held me back.

"Groot, let go!" I yelled, but he shook his head.

"I am Groot," he said.

"It's no safer down here!" I replied. But still, he wouldn't relent.

However, he was forced to let go a split second later, as someone - or something - grabbed onto him from behind and pulled him away, tossing him to the side.

"GROOT!" I yelled, just before whoever had thrown Groot knocked me to the ground and knelt on top of me. My vision blackened and I could barely see my attacker.

"WHERE IS THE ORB?!" a voice yelled. The voice was female, and very familiar. I couldn't place who owned it, though.

"HELP!" I yelled, but the woman hit me across the face and then gripped me by the jaw, putting her face close to mine.

"Answer my question!" she spat.

I blinked furiously, and my vision returned. The woman was thin and wiry, with pointed teeth like fangs and eyes that glowed completely red, no pupil or whites. It then dawned on me who she was. My eyes widened and my mouth opened in an O of shock. Even with the teeth and the eyes, even though I hadn't seen her in twelve years, even though she was supposed to be _dead,_ there was no mistaking that red hair, that purple skin.

"S - Scarlett?"


	8. Reunion

**_Sorry I haven't updated in ... *checks last update date* ... three months. Hey, I've been busy. I hope you'll enjoy this new chapter._**

* * *

I lay there in complete shock as I stared up into my sister's face. How was this happening? How was she alive? Why did she look like that? And why had she just attacked me?!

Then, Gamora's words from before echoed in my head.

_"When I was a little girl, Thanos took over my home world ... He decided to 'adopt' me ... He turned me into a weapon ... He sold me and two of my sisters to Ronan ... "_

It all made sense now. Thanos had adopted Scarlett as his daughter after he'd taken Ralaaria. He'd genetically modified her, which explained the teeth, the eyes, and the strength. And he'd sold her, Gamora, and another of their sisters to Ronan. No wonder Gamora had recognized Scarlett in that picture - they were sisters!

I was suddenly snapped out of my thoughts as Scarlett seized my face again. She pulled my head forward and put her face close to mine, her teeth bared. I got a good look at her eyes as she did this - they looked oddly ... glazed. Almost as if she were in a trance.

"I will not ask you again, vermin!" she snarled, spraying spit all over my face. _"WHERE IS THE ORB?!"_

Crying out in fear, I managed to wriggle my arms free and pull her hands away from my face. "Scarlett, it's _me!" _I said desperately, hoping that she would recognise me. "It's Solo! Your sister."

As soon as I said this, Scarlett's expression softened slightly. Her brow creased in confusion as she pulled back, surveying me with interest. Her eyes met mine, and I finally saw something register with me as her mouth opened in surprise, the glazed look in her eyes fading.

"Sister?" she repeated, much softer. "Is it really you?"

"Yes," I said, "It's me."

She sat back, a look of shock crossing her face. Gingerly, I sat up, and was immediately crushed in a hug as Scarlett threw her arms around me.

"Oh, Solo," I heard her sniff, "I thought I would never see you again ... "

"You thought you'd never see _me _again?!" I repeated. "Scarlett, I thought you were _dead! _I thought you were dead for nearly _twelve years!" _I tightened my arms around her, burying my face in her shoulder. "I can't tell you how happy I am to see you again," I said. "To know that you're alive ... "

"The feeling is mutual," said Scarlett. She finally pulled away, holding me back at arm's length. Now that she wasn't glaring any more, her glowing red eyes, while still rather scary, looked much kinder.

"You look ... " I said hesitantly, " ... Different."

Scarlett's gaze dropped. "Yes," she said vehemently, "Well, you can blame _Thanos _for that." She spat out the word "Thanos" as if it were poison. Gently, I reached out my hand and touched her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Scar," I said softly. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you from those monsters."

"I wouldn't have asked you to," Scarlett replied. "You were only a child. No good would have come from you being captured like me ... The only thing that kept me sane through all those years of torture was knowing that you had been able to escape the same fate as I."

I grinned. "Well, now you've found me. And you can escape Thanos and Ronan. You can come with me and my friends!"

Scarlett gave a small gasp, putting her hand to her mouth. "I ... I cannot. I am sorry, sister, but it's not possible. H - _HE _wouldn't allow it."

"Wait, what are you talking about? Who wouldn't allow it?"

Scarlett groaned, placing her hands to her temples. "You must go, quickly!" she gasped. "I - I won't be in control for much longer."

"In control? Scar, what are you - "

I stopped as Scarlett began to talk rapidly to someone who wasn't there, her eyes squeezed shut and a look of agony on her face. "No ... No, I don't want to ... I can't ... I _won't ... _please, she's my little sister ... no, PLEASE! NO!" Her sentence ended on a blood-curdling, throat shredding scream of agony that made my skin crawl. Scarlett's eyes opened a fraction. "RUN!" she screamed at me. "BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE - AAAAAAAAAH!"

I turned and bolted, running faster than I ever thought I could. My gaze darted around the area desperately, searching for Groot. Where was he? I couldn't just leave him behind! "GROOT!" I hollered. "GROOT, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

I then heard footsteps behind me, making the hairs on the back of my neck raise. I turned around, only to see Scarlett speeding towards me, her expression murderous. My brain screamed at me to run, but my feet stayed rooted to the spot. I watched in horror as my sister advanced on me, her eyes completely blank and glazed over again. That's when it hit me. She wasn't acting like this out of her own free will ... somehow, someone was controlling her. _Thanos, _I thought murderously.

That is, until I saw the wickedly-sharp and deadly looking blade clutched in Scarlett's fist. That was enough to snap me out of my stupor and start running again. Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough. I heard a whistling noise cut through the sound of the blood pounding in my head, and then the knife hit me in the shoulder. The impact knocked me to the ground. I yelled in pain, twisting my body around to examine the wound. The knife had cut a long slash in my shoulder, but it wasn't deep. A thin trickle of blood ran from it. I scrambled back to my feet, only to have Scarlett jump kick me so hard in the stomach that we were thrown back several metres. She knelt on top of me, raising her bloody knife above her head.

"Scarlett, NO!" I yelled, reaching up and seizing her by the head. "SNAP OUT OF IT! This isn't you!" I forced her to look me in the eyes. "This isn't you," I repeated. Scarlett blinked, and for just a moment, I saw some recognition in her eyes.

Then it was gone.

She growled, yanking my hands away and then slapping me across the face. "Don't try to manipulate me, you fool!" she snarled. "You're no sister of mine."

"Then so be it." I replied. Before she could react, I pulled one of my blasters out of my thigh holster and shot at her, knocking her backwards a few feet. As she tried to regain her feet in a daze, I got up and ran.

"GROOT!" I screamed, looking around desperately for my friend. "GROOT, WHERE ARE YOU?!" I heard the noise of footsteps behind me and turned around, pulling an arrow from the quiver on my back and notching it into the bow. I pointed it at Scarlett and she stopped in front of me.

"Where's Groot?" I demanded, pulling the string of the bow taut. "What did you do to him, Scarlett?!"

Scarlett looked bewildered. "The Flora Colossus?" she asked. "Oh, he is just unconscious. I can assure you, I didn't waste precious time by killing a _tree."_

_"WHERE IS HE?!" _I screamed.

Scarlett seized me by the ear and pulled my face close to hers. If I'd thought she looked scary before, now she looked downright terrifying. I hadn't even felt this scared when the Orb had blown up. "I don't see why you need to know that," she hissed, baring her teeth at me. "After all, you'll be dead very soon."

She clenched her fist and hit me in the face. It felt like someone had thrown a brick at me; I felt my cheek swell up and begin to bleed almost immediately. I didn't even have time to feel the pain of it when Scarlett hit me again, harder this time, so I was forced to back up against one of the mining ships the others had escaped in.

_If I could get in one of these things, I could escape her ..._

No. I knew Groot was still down here somewhere, and I couldn't leave him alone with Scarlett. Instead, I ignored the pain in my cheek and charged at Scarlett, shooting at her with my blasters. She yelled out in a mix of pain and anger, before snatching away my blasters faster than I could have thought possible and smashing them against the ground. We began to fistfight then, but it was clear who would come out on top here; Scarlett was faster, stronger, and much more equipped than I was. She hit me in my stomach, and I doubled up in pain. Then, she smacked me across the face and punched me so hard in the eye that I almost blacked out. Then, her strong hands gripped me around the throat and lifted me off the ground, strangling me. I choked and kicked at her, but she was holding me too far away for my short legs to hit her. Desperately I clawed at her fingers, but I had barely any fingernails left to scratch her with.

Finally, when I almost thought I would die of asphyxiation, Scarlett slammed me headfirst into the ground. I was semi-conscious of her dragging me across the ground, and being flung into the air, before I hit some kind of yellow liquid and all went dark.

* * *

I felt my chest being pierced by what felt like a long needle. I sat up and coughed violently, yellow liquid mixed with blood spilling past my lips. As soon as I had recovered from my fit of coughing, I looked up into the smiling face of Groot.

"Groot!" I cried, overjoyed, throwing my arms around him. "Are you OK?! Did _she _hurt you? Where is she, anyway? Where are the others? And - "

Groot pressed his hand to my mouth to stop my babbling, careful not to touch the wounded side of my face. I couldn't feel any pain anymore, but there was a strange numbness to my eye and cheek that I knew wasn't good. My fingers carefully traced my swollen cheek, and I winced in pain as a bolt of agony went through my jaw. I dropped my hand and stared up at Groot.

"I am Groot," he told me. _I don't know, but ..._

_"But, _what?" I asked him. He gestured to the left, and I turned my head in that direction, only to see Drax sitting nearby, covered in the same yellow goo as me.

"Drax?" I said as Groot dropped his hand. "What happened?"

Drax simply shook his head, not looking at either of us. He seemed ashamed.

_Oh shit, _I remembered. _He called Ronan. I'm presuming he lost that fight ... _Though I was still angry at Drax from the bar fight earlier, I still felt sorry for him, sitting there with that forlorn expression on his face. He'd been so sure that he could kill Ronan. I reached out towards him, to see if I could comfort him in any way, but stopped with a hiss of pain as my injured shoulder stung. It wasn't an especially deep wound - the knife had only gone in a centimetre or two - but _man, _did it hurt like a bitch.

One of the small pods then landed nearby with a crash, and Rocket stumbled out of it, cursing and spluttering.

"Blasted idiot!" he was saying. "They're all idiots!" He looked up at us, anger in his expression. "Quill just got himself captured!" He addressed Drax furiously. "This never would have happened if you hadn't single-handedly tried to take on _A FRICKIN' ARMY!"_

There was a long silence. I stared at Drax t see how he would react, biting my lip.

"You are right." Drax said suddenly, surprising me. He didn't seem like the type to admit when he was wrong. "All the anger ... all the _rage ... _It was just to cover my loss."

We were all silent for several seconds. Groot bent his head, eyes watering. My heart ached for Drax; I knew what it was like to lose people you loved. It was the worst feeling ever; it was as if you had lost a part of yourself that you could never get back.

"Oh, _boo-hoo!" _Rocket suddenly said mockingly. "My wife and child are _dead!"_

Groot gasped. I was shocked too. How _dare _Rocket say something so cruel?!

"You bastard!" I exclaimed. "How can you _say _something like that?! Have you no compassion?!"

"Oh, I don't care if it's mean!" Rocket scoffed. _"EVERYONE'S _got dead people! It's no excuse to get everyone else dead along the way!" He indicated to Groot and me. "Come on, you two. Ronan has the stone. The only chance we have is to get to the other side of the Galaxy as fast as we can, and maybe, just _maybe, _we'll be able to live full lives before that ... _whackjob _ever gets there!"

_Wait. Hold the fuck up. Ronan had the Stone?! Did he have Peter and Gamora too?!_

As if being able to read my thoughts, Rocket said "No, Ronan doesn't have Quill or Gamora. Yondu captured them."

"WHAT?!" I exclaimed. "And you just want to leave them there?!"

"Well, what do YOU suggest we do about it, Toots?!" Rocket snapped.

Groot got to his feet. "I am Groot!" he said.

"Save them?" Rocket repeated. "How?"

"I am Groot." said Groot.

"He's right," I said. "We can't just abandon them! We have to do _something."_

"I know they're the only friends we ever had!" said Rocket impatiently. "But there's an army of Ravagers around them, and only three of us."

Drax then slowly got to his feet, and put his hand on Groot's shoulder.

"Four." he said.

Touched, I turned to Drax and smiled at him.

"Thanks, Drax," I said.

Rocket, however, didn't seem to appreciate the gesture; he pulled at his ears and let out a loud groan of frustration. He then turned to a patch of dirt and grass and began kicking it.

"YOU'RE MAKIN' - ME - BEAT - UP - GRASS!" he shouted.

I sighed, then extended my uninjured arm and pulled him away from the poor grass. "Let's just get to the damn Milano and hope that they're not dead by the time we find Yondu." I said.

"All right, all right!" Rocket pulled himself away, then looked up at me, his expression a mix of confusion and concern. "Wait. The fuck happened to your face?"

* * *

"So let me get this straight," said Rocket. "You and Groot were attacked by your dead sister, who's not really dead, and who's working for Ronan, and then she tried to kill you. Is that what you're sayin'?"

"For the _fifth _time," I said in exasperation, "YES!"

"Alright, alright!" said Rocket defensively. "No need to get so goddamn touchy. It's just a lot to wrap my head around."

"Well, how do you think I feel?!" I demanded. "She's my SISTER, for crying out loud! My God, what did those bastards do to her?!" I slumped down in my seat, my forehead hitting Quill's coffee table with a loud thud. It hurt, but I didn't care. My mind was on other things.

I still couldn't believe what has happened to Scarlett. The sister that I remembered was sweet and sensible and caring; nothing like that insane, bloodthirsty monster. She'd seemed like the old Scarlett at first, but then ... it was almost like she'd been possessed. She didn't seem to have any control over her own actions. I ached for her.

"Are you going to be all right?" Drax asked. "You were beaten very badly. Do you need medical attention?"

"Nah," I said. I indicated the injured side of my face, which had already scabbed over and faded to light bruises. "My species heals pretty quickly. I should be OK."

Drax nodded, before getting up and going off somewhere. None of us followed him; he needed to be alone right now. Rocket shifted a little closer to me and put his hand on my arm comfortingly.

"Listen ..." he said, "Are you gonna be OK? And I don't mean physically. I mean, what happened to you would've devastated anybody. I just want to know if you're alright."

I shook my head numbly. "No. No I'm not."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Probably not. I don't think there's any saving her."

Rocket looked up at me with concern, and sighed. "I'm sorry about that."

"We are approaching Yondu's ship," Drax suddenly announced. "What's the plan?"

"Good question," I said, eyeing Rocket. "What _is _the plan?"

"You'll see." he replied.

* * *

"This is the worst plan in the entire history of plans." I stated bluntly.

Rocket rolled his eyes at me. "Oh yeah?" he asked. "Well, I don't see you coming up with anything!"

"And so you decide to save Gamora and Quill by blowing up the ship they're on. Yeah, real smart idea."

"Shut up."

Rocket slammed his hand down on a button on the control board, sending several small lasers over to the Ravager ship to get their attention. Then he cranked up the speakers.

"Attention, idiots!" he called into the microphone. "The lunatic on top of this craft is holding a Hadron Enforcer. A weapon of my own design." He smirked smugly. "If you don't hand over our companions _NOW, _he's gonna tear your ship a new one. A VERY BIG new one!"

I leaned over to the microphone. "Just for the record," I said apologetically, "I tried to talk him out of this."

"FIVE!" yelled Rocket. "FOUR! THREE - "

"ROCKET, IT'S ME!" Quill's voice called from the Ravager ship's speakers. "FOR GOD'S SAKES, WE FIGURED IT OUT! WE'RE FINE!"

"Oh, heya, Quill!" Rocket said casually. "What's goin' on?"

I shoved Rocket out of the chair and sat down at the steering wheel.

"HEY!" he exclaimed.

"Great," I said to Quill through the microphone. "We'll be there in a minute. And by the way ... Drax, you can come down now."

* * *

Once we got on board the Ravager ship, Quill immediately lead us into another room away from the less-than-friendly Ravagers. Once we were there, he explained to us his plan ... sort of. It wasn't exactly the greatest plan in the world; as in, it made Rocket's "blow up Quill and Gamora" plan look like pure genius.

"You call that 'figured it out'?!" exclaimed Rocket once he was done. "We're gonna rob the guys who just beat us senseless."

"Oh, you wanna talk about 'senseless'?!" Quill retorted. "How about trying to save us _by blowing us up?!"_

"We were only gonna blow you up if they didn't turn you over!"

"And how on Earth were they gonna turn us over if you only gave 'em a count of five?!"

"Well, we didn't have time to figure out the _minutiae _of the plan!" Rocket snapped. _"THIS _is the thanks we get for acting altruistically."

"I am Groot." said Groot with a frown.

"They are ungrateful!" agreed Rocket.

"ANYWAY," I said loudly over the arguing, "Quill, would you mind, maybe, _elaborating _a little on this plan of yours?"

"Well, uh," said Quill, "That's, pretty much all I've figured out so far."

I spluttered. "Seriously?!" I exclaimed. "Your plan is really just 'We'll board the Dark Aster and then steal the Orb". It's not that freaking simple, Peter!"

"I know that!" snapped Quill.

"What's important is that we get the Ravager's army to help us save Xandar." said Gamora.

"So we can give it to Yondu, who's just gonna sell it to someone even worse?" asked Rocket.

"We'll figure that part out later." said Peter.

"We have to stop Ronan!" exclaimed Gamora. "It's the only way the galaxy will be safe."

"Yeah, but how do we do it?" said Rocket.

"I have a plan." said Peter.

"You've got a plan." repeated Rocket.

" ... Yes," said Peter.

"You hesitated," I pointed out. "That's a sure sign that this plan's gonna suck."

"True," agreed Rocket. "And anyway, you're copying me from when I said I had a plan."

"No I'm not!" Peter defended. "People say that all the time. It's not that unique of a thing to say!"

"Secondly, I don't even believe you have a plan." continued Rocket as if he hadn't heard him.

"I have!" Peter argued, " - Part of a plan!"

"'Part'?" I repeated. "Well, that's reassuring."

"What percentage of a plan do you have?" asked Drax.

Gamora pointed at him threateningly. "You don't get to ask questions after the nonsense you pulled on Knowhere!" she exclaimed.

"I just saved Quill!" defended Drax.

"We've already established that you destroying the ship that I'm on is _not _saving me." said Peter.

"When did we establish this?"

"Like three seconds ago!"

"I wasn't listening, I was thinking about something else." muttered Drax.

"She's right, you don't get an opinion." said Rocket. "What percentage?"

"I dunno, 12?" Peter replied.

"12 percent?!" exclaimed Rocket. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"That's a fake laugh." said Peter.

"It's real!" snapped Rocket.

"Not."

"That is the most real, authentic, hysterical laugh of my entire life because _that is not a plan!"_

"OK, as enjoyable as this banter is, can we actually get to forming a coherent plan now?!" I asked.

"Good idea." said Peter, "Which is why I have one."

"You only have 12 percent of one!" I said. "That's no plan!"

"It's barely a concept." Gamora agreed.

"You're taking their side?!"

"I am Groot."

"So what if it's better than eleven percent?!" said Rocket. "What the Hell does that have to do with anything?"

"Thank you, Groot!" said Peter proudly, giving Groot a fond pat on the back. "See? Groot's the only one of you who has a clue!" Meanwhile, Groot had began to eat a flower growing on his shoulder. Peter noticed this and shook his head in shame.

"UGH!" I grunted in exasperation. "Look, this childish arguing is getting us nowhere. Udonta's gonna be coming in here soon expecting to hear this huge, spectacular plan of ours. We need to think of something, even if it is only 12 percent!"

"I know," said Peter. "And I know it's not much. Barely anything, really. But I know I can make it better. I know I can come up with a plan to stop Ronan and retrieve the Stone. But I won't be able to do that without all of your help!"

"But Quill," said Rocket, "Stopping Ronan ... it's impossible. You're asking us to die."

"Maybe he is," I said. "Or maybe he's not. But I still think that that's a pretty damn great way to die; saving others. I don't know about any of you, but I know that I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just ran away and let it happen while billions of people died. I've already done that, and I'm not going to make that same mistake twice." I turned to Peter. "Peter, you might be kind of a jerk, but you're still my friend, and you're still doing the right thing. I would be honored to fight alongside you. And, should it come to that, die alongside you as well." I stood up.

The others stared at me, all of them deep in thought. Gamora was the first to speak.

"I have lived most of my life surrounded by my enemies." she said, before standing as well. "I would be grateful to die among my friends."

Drax was the next to stand. "You are all honorable people," he said. "I will fight beside you. And in the end," he smiled, "I'll see my wife and daughter again."

Groot stood. "I am Groot."

I smiled around at all of them, before my gaze finally rested on Rocket. The only person still sitting. He looked conflicted; his brow was furrowed and he was biting his lip.

"You don't have to do this," I reminded him. "No one's gonna force you. We won't think any less of you if you choose not to fight."

He shook his head. "Ah, what the Hell," he said with a faint smile. "I ain't got that long a lifespan anyway." He too stood. "There. Now I'm standing. Y'all happy? We're all standing up now. We're just a bunch of jackasses ... standing in a circle."

I grinned at him. "Great," I said. "Now let's hear that plan, Quill. See if we can add to that 12 percent."

* * *

**And that's that. If you're wondering about Scarlett, don't worry: everything will be cleared up in the next few chapters. Hopefully. Anyway, thanks for reading! If you have any constructive feedback, let me know. I like to improve in any way I can. See you next time!**


	9. Executing The (terrible) Plan

_**I'm really sorry for my absence. I've been having a lot of personal problems lately, and I haven't felt the motivation to write ... well, anything. Plus, I'm lazy. I'll try not to leave you all hanging again, and I hope this chapter is up to standards. Thank you all for being so patient.**_

* * *

All things considered, Peter's plan wasn't that terrible. Rocket and Yondu would lead the Ravagers to blow a hole in the side of the Dark Aster, and then would fly down to protect the city from Ronan's army. Meanwhile, the rest of us would enter the ship. Since Ronan would seal himself behind security doors once we boarded, Gamora would shut off the system to open them. Once we all got inside, Peter would use the Hadron Enforcer to (hopefully) wipe Ronan off the face of the galaxy. It definitely sounded like it could work.

After he'd explained the plan, we all went off to get ready. I took a quick shower to clean all the mud and blood off of myself, and then got dressed in the new Ravager clothes I'd been given. I then stood at the sink for a minute or so, leaning my forehead against the cool surface of the mirror. I gripped the edges of it, as if to hold myself together.

_Cool it, Solo, _I thought to myself. _It's a solid plan, you're a good fighter, you'll have help by your side. You might not die an agonizing death ... _I shook my head rapidly. _Gotta think positive ... Just think of sunshine and rainbows and flowers ... _I leaned back from the mirror and looked at myself. My face had mostly healed up, but my eye was still bruised, and I could tell that I was going to have a scar on my cheek. I gave it a rub, and sighed. I would need to ask Gamora exactly what was up with Scarlett. Maybe there would be a way to get through to her again somehow.

But right now, I had bigger priorities. I had lost all but one of my arrows during the fight with Scarlett, and my other weapons were nowhere to be found either. Thankfully, my bow had survived the incident. I've had that bow since I was ten, and I was not about to lose it. I made my way to the weapons room, where I found Rocket and a group of Ravagers. They were stocking up on bullets, while Rocket was looking through the selection of guns with an awe-struck expression.

"What's up, Rocky?" I asked, strolling up to him.

"Never call me that again," he said, not looking away from the weaponry. "And whaddaya mean, 'what's up'?! Just look at these things!"

"They're guns," I said with apathy. "How amazing. I definitely don't see a million of those every day of my life."

"Get fucked," said Rocket, taking a gun and cocking it. "Some of these models are freaking priceless, and Yondu just chucks 'em back here for these Ravager douchebags to mess around with? If we don't die, remind me to steal 'em."

"Sure, whatever," I said, shrugging. I took some dual pistols from the wall and slid them into the holsters on my legs. "You seen any arrows around here?"

Rocket shook his head. "Go ask that guy, he probably knows," he said, jerking his head in the direction of a Ravager holding a bow. I went over in his direction.

"Hi," I said, "You got any - "

"Arrows?" he said. "Sure, there's a stash of 'em in the back. Follow me, I'll show ya." I followed him to the very back of the weapons room, and my jaw dropped. Lined up along the wall, most of them covered in dust, were a whole series of arrows, ranging from ordinary to high-tech. Explosive, flaming, poisoned, sonic, razor-sharp, even the electric brand that I favored. I might have made fun of Rocket for fan-boying over the guns, but here was I, practically drooling at the sight of all these arrows. It was an archer's dream come true.

The Ravager guy smirked at my expression. "It's amazing, huh?" he said. "I'm the only one who bothers with archery on this whole ship, so I've got these all to myself. Take as many as you want, I can always find more."

"Oh, thank you," I muttered, before diving right in. I took several of each type of arrow, shoving them haphazardly into my quiver.

Rocket was waiting for me at the door of the weapons room when I was ready to leave.

"Hey," he said. "Can we talk?"

"Sure," I said, leaning back against the wall. The Ravagers had since left, and the room was empty aside from us. "When do we arrive at Xandar?"

"Quill said we'd be there in about twenty minutes or so," said Rocket. "Look, since we might be about to die, I just wanna say a few things, in case we don't see each other again." He inhaled slowly, and then suddenly threw his arms around my waist. I was surprised at first, but then knelt down slightly so as to hug him back properly.

"You're gonna make it out of this," he said into my ear, patting the back of my head. "Even if I don't, I'm gonna make sure that you and Groot do. You guys are my best friends, and I'm not gonna let anything happen to either of you. You understand? You won't die. Not on my watch. If you die, I'll freakin' kill ya."

I let out a faint giggle. "Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself, and even if I can't, I'm sure Groot can." That, at least was true; Groot might not have been the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he was nothing if not protective. I then leaned back slightly, standing on my heels to see Rocket properly. "Rocket ... In case one of us does die, I just want to thank you. For everything. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be long dead by now. I wouldn't have lasted much longer on that planet, but then you and Groot found me. Sure, there have been some low points, but I was more than happy. You were more than just my friends ... You were my family. And I'll always be grateful for that." I hugged him again. We stayed like that for about a minute, before he finally pulled away.

"That's not all I wanted to talk to you about, Soh," he said. His expression was serious and somewhat embarassed, for some reason.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's about ... what happened between us last night. At the bar."

I felt my face heat up as I finally remembered. It felt like weeks ago, so much had happened since then, and I had pretty much completely forgotten about the kiss. "Oh. Right. That." I muttered, hanging my head to avoid looking at him. "Um ... why was that a thing again?"

Rocket rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Look, I ... I don't know, exactly. I was drunk off my mind, and I wasn't thinking straight, and then you were there, just saying all these nice things to me, and I just ... did it. I'm really sorry, kid. It didn't mean anythin', really. I probably would've made out with _Quill _if it'd been him in that situation. Anyway, now that I'm sober, I just wanted to explain, and hopefully forget it ever happened. Alright?"

I didn't answer him. I knew that what he was saying was meant to be reassuring, and it probably should've been, but it wasn't. On the contrary, it felt more like a giant punch in the chest. "Oh," I finally said quietly. "O - OK then. I guess that explains that."

"Are you all right?" Rocket asked, frowning.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm ... fine." I said. "Just ... worried or something. I better go. See you before we leave. Bye!" I got up and practically bolted out of the room. I kept running until I reached an empty bathroom, then locked myself in it and sat down against the door, pressing my face into my knees.

_"What the fuck is wrong with me?!" _I whispered. Normally, if Rocket had said he didn't have feelings for me, I wouldn't have batted an eyelid. But now? Now, it felt like my heart was caught in a vice. Did I ... have feelings for him?

I shook my head rapidly. _Nope. Impossible. _Rocket had always been like an older brother to me; he was always there for me, fiercely protective and helpful. I couldn't have feelings for him!

... Right?

_Aw, shit._

I then heard a knock at the door, startling me out of my stupor. "I am Groot?" a voice said. I unlocked the door and rushed out into a surprised Groot's arms, hugging him as tightly as a skinny five-foot tall girl can hug a giant walking tree.

"I am Groot," he said, rubbing my back in a comforting way. He always did this whenever I was stressed out or upset, and it would calm me down right away.

"I love you too," I said. "You're a better friend than I deserve. Never change, Groot. Never."

"I am Groot," he replied. _Don't worry, I won't._

Peter then entered the scene.

"We're almost at Xandar," he said, looking grim. "I just contacted Nova for help. It's time to go."

* * *

I felt sick as I waited to board the Milano. _Can I really do this? _I thought. _Am I really willing to die for people I've never met, people who dont' give a shit about me? _I shook my head - this was no time for cold feet.

"Guys."

I turned my head - standing beside Groot and I was Rocket. He was biting his lip, a sign that he was scared, but there was a look of steely determination in his eyes. "I just wanted to say goodbye to you both. In case ... y'know."

"I am Groot," said Groot. He then grabbed one of us in either arm and gave us both a giant hug. I hugged them both back.

"I love you both," I muttered. "More than anything."

"Yeah, yeah, I love you as well," muttered Rocket. "Yadda yadda yadda. Now cut the sentimental crap before I puke up my guts. And for fuck's sake, Groot, quit hugging me, ya big idiot."

Groot released him, and with one last look back at us all, he went into his ship. Groot and I went into the Milano and strapped ourselves in. I clenched my fists against my seat. Gamora, who was sitting beside me, gave me a concerned look.

"Are you all right?" she asked, then shook her head. "No, that was a stupid question. Of course you aren't. No one is."

"Everyone keeps saying that we're gonna make it," I said, "But I have a very bad feeling that we're all gonna die horribly."

"Wow. Real helpful attitude you got there, Han Solo," Peter remarked, taking his seat.

"Get fucked, Quill," I said blankly.

"Right back atcha," he replied.

_"LET'S GO GET 'EM, BOYS!" _I heard Yandu yell. The ship opened up, and out we all flew.

"This is a terrible plan!" Gamora said.

"Hey, you're the one who said you wanted to die among friends!" said Peter brightly. Gamora gave him a withering look.

I continued gripping the arms of my seat and stared at the ground until I heard Yondu give us all the cue, and knew we had reached the Dark Aster.

_"FIRE!"_

Two Ravager ships fired their cannons at the Dark Aster, sending fiery blasts that covered their forcefield and completely blocked their view of us.

_"Cover it down!" _yelled Yondu. _"SUBMERGE!"_

Our fleet flew down past the forcefield and went under the Dark Aster, heading for the weak spot just beneath the ship.

"Rocket, HURRY!" Peter yelled to Rocket as he flew past us. However, once Rocket and two other Ravagers reached the weak spot and began to fire at it, a swarm of ships full of Ronan's Sakaarn soldiers flew out of the Dark Aster. They continued firing at the ship, even as it began moving. I leaned forward in my seat, my nails digging into the arms and my eyes practically bulging out of my head.

_Come on, Rocket, you can do it ..._

With one final shot, Rocket managed to break a hole in the ship.

"QUILL! YONDU! NOW!" he shouted.

We flew at top speed towards the hole, but there were too many enemy ships around for us to get there quickly. Peter shot at them, managing to take them down, but we then heard yelling and an alarm blaring as Yondu screamed.

"OH, HELL!" he screamed. "I'M GOING DOWN, QUILL!"

I looked out the window of the Milano, and sure enough, Yondu was plummeting to the ground.

"NO MORE GAMES WITH ME, BOY! I'LL SEE YOU AT THE END OF THIS!"

Is it bad that I was hoping he wouldn't?

"WOAH!" I yelled as we were hit with a laser from a Sakaarn ship and knocked sideways. Peter tried to shoot at it, but there were more coming at us. Soon, we would be surrounded.

"THERE'S TOO MANY OF THEM, ROCKET!" Gamora shouted. "WE'LL NEVER MAKE IT UP THERE!"

A bright gold laser then came from behind us and collided with a ship, destroying it. More and more came, destroying the group surrounding us.

"What the - ?" I muttered. Amazingly timed as ever, it seemed that Nova had come to save our asses.

_"Peter Quill," _a voice said from the Nova ship beside us. _"This is Denarian Saal of the Nova Corps. For the record, I advised against trusting you here."_

"They got my dick message!" Peter exclaimed with a giant grin.

"'Come' again?" I quipped, snickering.

"You are disgusting." said Drax bluntly from behind me.

_"Prove me wrong." _Saal finished.

Peter gave a theatric shrug. "Alrighty then," he said, and the ship blasted forward.

* * *

_Well, that was exhausting and terrifying. I wonder what joy awaits us up ahead?_

We just barely made it inside the gaping hole in the Dark Aster, but unfortunately, it wasn't exactly a smooth landing; we crashed to the ground and skidded along at top speed, shooting haphazardly at all the soldiers waiting for us inside. Once we eventually stopped, Drax was cheering in elation. "YES!" he laughed, throwing his hands into the air.

"We're just like Kevin Bacon!" said Gamora to Peter with a smile.

"The fuck is a - y'know what, never mind," I groaned, rubbing my head. "Let's just kill the blue freak and get this over with."

We climbed out of the Milano and followed Gamora's lead into the pitch darkness.

"I can barely see," Drax complained.

I stuck close to Groot, keeping a tight grip on his wrist so I wouldn't fall over. I saw him lift his hand up, and from it came tiny specks of light that filled the room with their glow, allowing us to see. Despite the grim scenrio, it was really a beautiful sight. I stared up in wonder at them.

"Wow," I breathed. I wished Rocket was there to see it with us.

"When did you learn to do that?" Drax asked.

"Pretty sure the answer is 'I am Groot'," Peter said to him.

"Just hang around him for a while, you'll learn Groot Speak eventually," I said. "Only took me about four years."

"The flight deck is 300 metres this way," said Gamora, walking ahead. We followed after her, still marvelling in how beautiful the room looked.

"I want you all to know that I am grateful for your acceptance after my blunders," Drax told us. "It is pleasing to once again have ... friends." He looked towards Peter. "You, Quill, are my friend."

"Thanks," said Peter.

"This dumb tree, he is my friend."

Groot gave a grunt of acknowledgement.

"This small purple girl, she is my friend."

"Much obliged, buddy."

"And this green whore, she too - "

"Oh, you must STOP!" Gamora said in exasperation.

The conversation was then interrupted as two people dropped from the ceiling; A bald cyborg-looking ... thing that I assumed was Nebula, and Scarlett. I made a little squealing noise and seized Gamora by the arm.

"Gamora," said Nebula threateningly, "Look at what you have done."

Scarlett bared her teeth in a mocking grin at us. At _me. _The way she was looking at me - like she was planning the exact was I was going to die - made me want to hurl.

"You have always been weak," Nebula went on. "You stupid, traitorous - "

_BOOM._

Nebula was cut off as she and Scarlett were thrown across the room and a blinding light flashed. Once it cleared, we all noticed that Drax had shot them with his still-smoking bazooka.

"Nobody talks to my friends like that." he said sternly.

"What about that redheaded one?" Peter asked.

"She was looking at me strangely." Drax simply stated.

Gamora gave him a quick smile that clearly meant 'Thank you'. "Head to the flight deck," she told us. "I'll shut down the power to the security doors."

She went off straight ahead, while Peter, Groot and Drax took a left. I was about to follow them, but then stopped and stared after Gamora for a second, before running after her.

"Gamora, wait!" I called.

"Solo, what are you doing?" said Gamora. "Go to the flight deck! I'll be fine!"

"You'll be fine?" I repeated. "Gamora, you may be one of the most badass people I've ever met, but even you won't be able to take on both Scarlett and Nebula once they come to. Let me help you."

"I can't - "

"She's my sister too, Gamora!" I snapped. Gamora flinched. "Why didn't you tell me about Scarlett? You knew she was my sister, I know you did!"

"I didn't know for sure that it was her!" Gamora said as we continued along our way. "Besides, be honest: how would you have reacted to that?"

"OK, fair enough," I shrugged, "But what's up with her? When I met her last night, she was all normal one minute and insane the next! I don't - "

"Mind control," Gamora said simply. "Thanos trained Scarlett to be an assassin like the rest of our siblings, but he couldn't find a way to keep her obedient to his will like the rest of us. He couldn't break her, so instead he planted a device of sorts into her. I don't know how it works, but it's used to turn her into a mindless killing machine whenever he wanted a job done. She'll kill whoever she views as an enemy with no remorse whatsoever. It's possible to get through to her, though ... We're here."

Attatched to the ceiling were several cylindrical machines. Nebula and Scarlett's crumpled figures lay beneath them.

"Are they ... dead?" I whispered?

"No," Gamora replied. As if to certify her answer, Nebula's body began to twitch, robotically clicking back into place. She stood up and gave us a resentful glare as her jaw clicked back into place.

Gamora raised her hands in surrender and approached her cautiously. I did the same, even though what I really wanted to do was blow Nebula's creepy head off.

"Nebula, please," said Gamora pleadingly. Nebula looked at her coldly, and then lunged, slashing with her knife. Gamora dodged the attack and grabbed Nebula by the arm, punching her in the stomach and then elbowing her in the back. I ran towards one of the machines and opened it up, pulling out one of my knives.

_OK, I'm an engineer, I can do this ... as long as Scarlett stays unconscious ... _

A purple arm locked itself around my throat.

_Nope._

Choking, I drove my elbow backwards into Scarlett's kidney, but her grip wouldn't loosen. Gamora made a run for the machine, but Nebula slashed her arm with one of her knives, causing a crackle of electricity to shoot up Gamora's shoulder. She yelled in pain and fell backwards, Nebula continuing to slash at her and then kicking her hard in the stomach.

I grabbed one of my pistols out of its holster and shot backwards at Scarlett with it, making her yell out and let go of me. I ran forward, turning around to face her, but then noticed that Nebula was bearing down on Gamora. This distracted me enough to allow Scarlett to punch me hard in the stomach, causing me to double up in pain. She then tried to punch me in the chin, but I dropped to the ground and knocked her legs out from under her with a sweeping kick. Gamora had managed to get Nebula off of her and the two were locked in a sword fight. I ran at Nebula and jumped onto her back, locking my arms tightly around her neck.

"GO!" I screamed at Gamora, and she ran back to the locking device and tried to break it. However, before she could, Scarlett tackled her to the ground and the two began to fistfight.

I, meanwhile, had my arms locked as tightly around Nebula's neck as possible, attempting to strangle her. She choked and gagged, clawing at my hands, and eventually managed to make me let go. She threw me off of her, and my back slammed hard into the ground. I lay there for a few seconds, winded, before I was able to get up. I notched an arrow - one of the razor-sharp ones - into my bow and aimed it at Nebula, hitting her in the back before she could reach Gamora. She screeched in pain and yanked the arrow out, black oily-looking blood pouring out of the wound - I had hit her in one of her cyborg body parts, it seemed

She turned around, her face a mask of pure rage. Her fist clenched around the arrow, crushing it into dust. It was at that moment that I thought I might just pee my pants. Nebula ran at me, colliding into me with the force of a battering ram. We both skidded along the ground, locked in a tussle, until we crashed into the wall. She knelt on top of me, pinning my legs down, and pulled out her knife. She was about to drive it down into my throat when the wall exploded and we - as well as Scarlett and Gamora, who were locked in combat beside the machines - were thrown backwards.

I peeled my face from the floor and looked over at the wall in bewilderment. "What the - " There was a gaping hole in the wall, and through it I could see the blockade Nova had formed disintegrating. Thousands, maybe millions of pilots were dying, right before my very eyes. Completely forgetting about the situation, I simply stared, mouth hanging open.

At least, until a blade slammed down beside my head, missing my hand by a millimetre. Yelling, I turned around onto my back and saw Scarlett above me, holding a sword. She smiled sickeningly.

"Bye bye," she said, driving the sword downwards. I yelped, moving out of the way just in time, and then grabbed my dagger from my belt. I threw it at Scarlett, aiming for her chest, but catching her in the shoulder instead. The force of the hit managed to knock her backwards, though, allowing me to get to my feet and seize an explosive arrow from my quiver. I notched it into the bow at lightning speed, but she simply swung her sword and knocked it out.

Unfortunately for both of us, the impact of the sword set off the minor explosive that was attatched to the arrow, causing it to blow up and blast us both sideways into Nebula and Gamora, who were again duling. In the resulting confusion, Gamora dropped her sword out the hole in the wall, and Nebula's electric spear drove itself into Scarlett's hip. She screeched as blood poured from the wound, and the electricity caused her hair to stand on end. Gamora, taking advantage of Scarlett's distraction, delivered a roundhouse kick to her back, knocking her aside.

Nebula, who was behind me, slashed at my back with one of her knives. I jumped out of the way before she could do anything more than create a shallow cut, then I turned around and delivered an uppercut to her chin, which knocked her to the ground. I then turned around - Scarlett was holding Gamora up to the wall by the throat, and had a sword gripped in her hand. I took another one of my arrows - just an ordinary one this time - and shot it straight into Scarlett's leg. She cried out and released Gamora, who snatched the knife from her and then whacked her hard in the side of the head, knocking her out cold.

_Finally!_

"SOLO, DUCK!" Gamora screamed, just as she threw an knife straight at me. I hit the floor just before it hit me, and instead it collided with Nebula - not stabbing her, as it hit her in the metal part of her head - but instead knocking her straight out the hole in the wall. She skidded down the debris and managed to catch on just before she fell to the ground.

Gamora ran over to the hole and leaned down, desperately reaching for her sister. "Nebula!" she cried pleadingly. "Sister, help us fight Ronan! You know he's crazy!"

Nebula looked at her with contempt. "I know you're both crazy." And with that, she let go.

"NO!" Gamora screamed. However, instead of falling to her death, Nebula landed on one of the Ravager ships and broke inside it, throwing the pilot inside out and flying away.

"Well, at least she's not with Ronan anymore," I said. I then heard a groan from behind me, and saw that Scarlett was stirring. "Oh, crap, she's coming to already?! What do we do?"

"You have to try and get through to her," said Gamora. "We don't have time to fight her, so we need to get her on our side instead."

"But the mind control - "

"Don't worry. I have a plan."

We both ran to Scarlett's side. Gamora lifted her up into a sitting position and held her arms tightly behind her back. I knelt in front of her.

"What do I do?" I asked Gamora uncertainly.

"Talk to her. Let her know you're not a threat, that you're not the enemy. If you get her to calm down, she'll start thinking straight and she'll snap out of it."

"And what happens when she goes insane again?"

"As long as all goes to plan, she won't."

I gently took Scarlett's bruised face into my hands and tilted her chin up slightly. "Scar?" I whispered. "Scarlett?"

Her eyes shot open, and she immediately began struggling against Gamora's grip.

"Let me go!" she strained. "Let me go right now!"

"Scar," I said again. "It's me, Solo. Your sister."

"YOU'RE LYING!" Scarlett screamed. "MY SISTER IS DEAD! THEY TOLD ME SHE WAS DEAD! YOU'RE LYING!"

"I'm not dead, Scar," I said. "I'm right here. Just look at me ... _please. _Look at me."

Scarlett glowered at me suspiciously. But there was something else in her eyes - recognition? Something was definitely clicking with her. But she wasn't making this easy.

"You're not my sister!" she insisted. "My sister is dead! They told me my whole family was dead ... "

"They lied," I said calmly. "Scarlett, I'm alive. I'm alive and I'm not going to hurt you. I love you. Please, Scar, it's me, it's Solo ..."

Scarlett's expression went from anger to confusion to sadness. "Solo ... " she whispered. "My ... my little sister ... we always called her ... Solo ... " Her eyes met mine. "It's really you?"

"Yes," I said, smiling. "It's me."

She smiled back, and suddenly I found myself pinned into a vise-like hug. "I'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRY!" Scarlett shouted through tears as she hugged me. "I didn't mean it, I'm sorry - did I hurt you? Did I kill anyone? Please tell me I didn't kill anyone!"

I hugged her back as hard as I could, never wanting to let go. Finally I had my sister back ... sort of.

"Scarlett," said Gamora. Scarlett looked up at her. "Please, will you fight Ronan with - "

"Definitely," said Scarlett with a grin. "I always hated that guy. He was an asshole." As if to prove her point, she picked up Nebula's spear from the floor and used it to smash the security mechanism. "Let's go."

Gamora picked up Drax's bazooka and used it to blast the ceiling above us open. Gamora and Scarlett both jumped up, me hanging on to Scarlett's back. We charged over to the middle of the room, as did Drax, Peter and Groot, and all six of us stood before Ronan. Peter aimed the Hadron Enforcer before he could react to our appearance and fired. The bullet hit him right in the heart. There was a huge explosion, and I staggered backwards as the whole room filled with blue light.

We all smiled as we assumed Ronan dead.

"You did it!" Drax said to Peter, grinning.

However, the smiles were wiped from our faces as the smoke cleared and Ronan was revealed to still be standing, without so much as a scratch on him.

"Oh, _TITS!" _I said under my breath.

_WHAT THE FUCK WERE WE SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?!_

"The Stone!" yelped Scarlett. "He's embedded it into his staff! It must have made him invulnerable!"

As if proving her point, Ronan raised his staff, pointing it at us, and knocked us all back with a wave of energy. Drax immediately got back up, and, enraged, charged Ronan down, only for him to seize Drax by the throat.

"Drax, NO!" I screamed. Without even thinking about it, I got back up and ran.

"I do remember your family," I heard Ronan say, before I body slammed him as hard as I could, knocking him over and making him release his grip on Drax. Ronan turned to me, livid, and raised his staff. Just before he hit me with its energy, a Ravager ship piloted by none other than Rocket crash-landed into the room, slamming straight into Ronan.

Unfortunately, it slammed straight into me as well.

* * *

**_Ha-ha, cliffhanger. I'll update as soon as I can. If you have any constructive criticism, please give it. Because I'm not too sure about this chapter, to be honest. I tried to make it as long and interesting as I could, but I'm not so sure I did a good job, especially with the whole fight sequence (I'm not exactly an expert at those) and the whole thing with Scarlett. Thanks for reading!_**


	10. Let it Fly

_**Hey! So this is the last official chapter of the story. There'll be an epilogue after this, but it'll most likely be fairly short. Hope you enjoy!**_

Gamora coughed from the smoke-filled air as she climbed gingerly to her feet, testing her limbs to see if anything was broken. Thankfully, she was all right. She glanced around the room to make sure her friends were still alive. Peter was retrieving an unconscious Rocket from the ruins of the Milano, and Groot and Scarlett were hauling a piece of debris off of Drax, who was also knocked out. Ronan was nowhere in sight, probably dead. She looked away from them when she heard Peter gasp, and only then did she notice, with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, the crumpled figure of Solo lying beneath the Milano.

"Shit!" Peter exclaimed, setting Rocket aside. "Gamora, help me get this thing off of her!"

Gamora wasted no time in rushing over to his side. Solo was splayed out on the ground, face-down, her eyes closed and her jaw slack. Her body from the hips-down was pinned beneath the Milano. Peter quickly pressed his fingers to the pulse point in her neck, and he gave a relieved exhale as he confirmed she was still alive. Gamora heard footsteps behind them, and suddenly Groot had lifted the whole ship off of his friend's body and thrown it aside.

Scarlett let out a scream, clapping her hands to her mouth. The ground around Solo's left leg was red and slick with blood. Blood that was pumping freely from a large open wound in the leg.

Gamora's mind was blank with shock for a few moments, before she snapped into action. She shrugged off her Ravager jacket and tore a large strip off of it. Then she ripped Solo's destroyed pant leg aside and used the piece of jacket to apply pressure to the wound.

Suddenly, the ship rocked violently in the air. More pieces of debris rained down upon them. Scarlett was sobbing, tears rolling down her face as she clutched Solo's hand, begging her to stay alive. If Solo could hear her, she didn't respond.

"Gamora," Peter said, shaking her shoulder. She didn't respond, only continuing to press her makeshift bandage over Solo's wound. "Gamora. I don't think there's any saving her. She's losing too much blood - "

Gamora wheeled around to face him, livid. "SHUT UP!" she screamed, and she was surprised to find that there were tears in her eyes. Tears of anger or sadness, she didn't know. "I have to try! She saved my life back at the prison, and I have to repay her!"

Peter fell back, biting his lip, then focused his gaze on something - Solo's quiver of arrows, which was still strapped to her back. His eyes widened and he seized an arrow from the quiver.

"That's it!" he exclaimed. "A tourniquet!"

"What?" Gamora asked.

"A tourniquet!" Peter repeated. The ship fell some more in the air. "When I was in the hospital with my mom as a kid, a man came in to the emergency room. He'd been in a hunting accident, and his arm was bleeding out. So his friend tied a tourniquet around his arm, and held it in place with a stick to stop the blood flow. We can do that here!"

Gamora exhaled. "Quill, you're a genius!"

Peter used the arrow to tear a strip off his own jacket, and then handed it to Gamora. She wrapped it around Solo's leg above the wound and tied a loose knot, before placing the arrow on top and tying another knot around it. She twisted the arrow slowly, and the blood flow began to stop.

"Is she still alive?!" she asked Scarlett urgently. Solo had lost a lot of blood, and her normally vibrant purple skin has taken a grayish tinge to it. Scarlett pressed two fingers to the pulse point in her sister's neck, and then cracked a smile of relief when she felt the pulse.

"She's alive!"

Suddenly, the ship gave a violent jerk. It slid forward as it was preparing to go into a complete nosedive. They had minutes before the Dark Aster would hit the ground. Minutes before they would all be killed.

"I am Groot," Groot suddenly said from the middle of the room. Everyone's head turned to him. He was kneeling with the still unconscious Drax and Rocket just in front of him. Groot gestured for the others to join them, which they did. Gamora grabbed Solo by the arms as Scarlett took her gently by the legs and they both carried her over.

Once the four of them reached Groot, he closed his eyes and raised both arms as if to circle the group completely. Small branches grew from his body, connecting with one another and forming a sphere around everyone. He was creating a shield, to protect them from dying. Gamora gazed up at him, mouth open in wonder, as she cradled Solo's head in her lap. Once Groot had formed the shield completely around his friends, even wrapping Drax in a protective cocoon on the floor, more of the orbs of light came from the branches and lit up the darkness.

Rocket stirred in Peter's arms, his eyes opening, before he sat up and realised what was going on, what Groot was sacrificing.

"No, Groot!" he exclaimed, and Gamora was surprised to see tears in his eyes. She'd thought that Rocket was far too hardy for tears. But then again, she'd been wrong about all her other friends so far ...

Rocket limped over to Groot and took his face in his hands. "You can't! You'll ... die." He choked up, tears running down his face. _"Why are you doing this?! Why?"_

Groot smiled sadly at his friend, wiping away his tears with one of his branches, and addressed the group.

_"We ... are ... Groot."_

Gamora had to blink away tears of her own as she held Solo's unconscious form even tighter. She lowered her head and hoped nobody would notice her crying.

* * *

Every part of my body hurt. My head felt like it had been hit with a brick. My body felt like someone had put on shoes made of concrete and decided that kicking me would be a fun pastime. I definitely had some bruised ribs or something. And my leg ... Oh fuck, my leg felt like it had been dipped in liquid nitrogen. It was completely numb, but I also felt like if I could actually feel it, it would be agonizingly painful.

"S ... Soh? Can you hear me?"

At Rocket's familiar voice, my eyes opened. I lifted my head from the ground slowly, wincing at the pain that shot through my temple. I was on Xandar, I could see that much, but everything was destroyed. The ground was covered in dust, rubble, and ... twigs? The surrounding buildings were broken down and partially on fire, and there was a whole crowd of terrified looking spectators nearby.

"Rocket?" I said slowly, squinting as my dusty eyes watered in pain. Last thing I remembered was being hit with the ship. I must have been knocked out. I just considered myself lucky I had survived at all. "W-what happened?"

"We crashed," Rocket said, and I was startled to see that his face was stained with tears. "We would've died, but ... "

It was only then that I noticed something off - Gamora, Peter, Drax and Scarlett lay nearby, Scarlett knocked out cold and the other three simply groaning in pain. But ...

"Where's Groot?" I asked. "Rocket, where is he?!"

Rocket's face crumpled, and only then did it click. The twigs on the ground ...

"No," I whispered. "No. No, it's not true. He ... he can't be! He can't be ... dead?"

"I called him an idiot," Rocket whispered, picking up one of the twigs and clutching it to his chest. "I didn't even get to say sorry ..." His voice cracked and he bent his head, but not before I saw the fresh tears in his eyes. I put my arms around him and gently rocked him back and forth as he dissolved into sobs.

Groot, one of my best friends, who had been like an older brother or father to me, was dead. I didn't know. I didn't even get to say goodbye. I continued to comfort Rocket, trying my best to keep it together for his sake. He needed me right now, and goddammit, I was going to be there for him.

Or at least, I would've been, if it hadn't been for that fuckwad Ronan turning out to not actually be dead like the dickweed that he is.

Rocket noticed him before I did, turning his head around to look behind us. Once he saw that the Accuser was, in fact, still alive, his face contorted with rage and he pulled away from me.

_"YOU KILLED GROOT!" _he screamed, running towards Ronan in blind fury.

"ROCKET, NO!" I screamed after him. Ronan gave Rocket a disgusted glance before using the power of the Infinity Stone to toss him aside into a pile of rubble. He raised the staff again to deliver a final blow.

Here's where I got _really _pissed. Ronan was trying to take Rocket away from me, just after I'd lost Groot at his hands as well. Never before in my life had I wanted to murder someone as badly as I did Ronan.

In my anger and desparation, I seized a chunk of debris and hurled it as hard as I could at Ronan.

"YOU BAG OF DICKS!" I screamed at him, before I began screaming every single slur I knew at him, tears of rage falling down my face. Ronan directed his attention towards me instead of Rocket, and with what looked like a roll of his eyes pointed his staff at me and blasted me sideways. I collided with Rocket and lay on the ground, too stunned and angry and pained to move. We'd failed ... after all we'd sacrificed, all of those pilots had died for us, after we'd lost _Groot,_ we'd still failed our mission. Ronan was still going to win.

"BEHOLD!" Ronan shouted, adressing the citizens of Xandar. "Your _guardians of the galaxy! _What fruit have they wrought? Only that my father, and his father, shall finally know vengeance!"

I then spied something out of the corner of my eye. A few metres away, lying half-buried in the rubble, was my still-full quiver of arrows. My eyes widened as I hatched a plan. I looked over towards Peter, who was lying nearby, and gestured for his attention.

_"Distract him!" _I mouthed.

_"How?" _he replied. He then glanced over at the radio of his ship, which somehow was still functioning ... and which happened to be playing a song. A grin curled onto his lips as he got to his feet, stood before Ronan, and began to dance and sing along.

_"Oooh chiiild, things are gonna get ea-si-eeer! Oooh chiiild, things'll get brighter!_ Listen to these words."

Ronan was too stunned to react, simply staring at him in confusion. Taking advantage of the situation, I got to my knees and began to slowly crawl towards the quiver.

"What are you doing?" Ronan inquired, actually sounding genuinely curious.

"Dance-off, bro. Me and you!" Peter said, breaking into more exaggerated dance moves. He gestured for Gamora to join him. "Gamora!" She shook her head quickly. "Subtle. Take it back!"

At this point, I had finally managed to drag my broken body over to the quiver. I lifted it out of the rubble, and pulled out one of the more powerful explosive arrows. Hopefully it would be enough to do what I needed it to do. Thankfully Ronan hadn't noticed me yet, but I signalled to Peter that I was ready.

_"What. Are you. DOING?!" _Ronan demanded, confusion obvious in his tone.

"I'm distracting you, yah big turd blossom!" Peter replied, a proud smile on his face. At that, I lifted the bow and pulled the string back. Just as he turned towards me, I aimed the arrow towards his staff and let it fly.

The staff exploded on impact. Time seemed to slow down as Peter's eyes fixed on the falling Infinity Stone and he dived towards it. Ronan reached to grab it, but Peter was faster. His fist closed tightly around the Stone just before Ronan could get it.

"NO!" Gamora shouted.

As soon as Peter grabbed the Stone, the air around him exploded in a haze of purple and black smoke. He fell on the ground and began writhing in agony, purple cracks appearing in his skin, which began to disintegrate. Purple sparks flew all around him as he screamed in pain, his body being forced rigid and upright. The close proximity to the sparks was painful for me, but it sounded like the worst kind of agony for him. I managed to open my eyes a fraction and look at him, and immediately wished I hadn't; all of his wounds from the battle and the crash were being ripped open and exposed to the Stone's power. His eyes had turned completely dark and his flesh was beginning to come apart. Ronan stood before him, a sadistic grin on his face.

It was in that exact moment that I wished Peter would just drop the Stone and let us all die.

But then, something incredible happened: Gamora managed to stand up. She extended her arm towards Peter and called for him.

"PETER!" she screamed. "TAKE MY HAND!"

Peter looked at her as the skin on his face completely disintegrated, revealing glowing purple flesh underneath. And although his eyes were fixed on her, it looked like he was seeing someone else entirely. Someone who wasn't there at all.

"TAKE MY HAND!" Gamora shouted again, desperately.

And without a moment's hesitation, he did.

Immediately, Gamora's body went rigid and spread-eagled as well. Her legs planted firmly to the ground. Cracks began appearing on her body and she started to scream.

And then, I knew what I had to do. With extreme difficulty, I managed to stand myself upright on my uninjured leg, and, dragging the useless one behind me, I made my way over to Gamora and grabbed her hand as well.

My body went completely rigid, both legs planting firmly to the ground and rendering me unable to move. My hair stood on end and my head was thrown back as I screamed and screamed. The pain was unlike anything else I'd ever experienced. It felt like I was being blown up, stabbed, and lit on fire all at the same time. All I wanted to do at that exact moment was to die and end the torment. I managed to force my eyes open and saw Drax latching onto Peter's shoulder, and then Rocket reaching up and grabbing Drax by the finger.

For some reason, as soon as all five of us were standing together, the pain began to subside. I found that I was able to move again and the cracks in my body began to close up. The five of us all stood our ground, sharing the energy of the stone amongst ourselves, and stared down a cowering and confused Ronan.

"You're mortal!" he shouted. _"HOW?!"_

"You said it yourself, bitch," Peter said coldly, glowering at Ronan with his now vibrant purple eyes. "We're the guardians of the galaxy." He opened his palm and unleashed the full power of the stone upon Ronan.

It looked almost like he was shooting purple flames at him. The energy of the stone enveloped him completely, lifting him off his feet, as his mouth opened wide in horror and he screamed in pain. I watched with some amount of relish as my enemy was consumed by the stone's power and destroyed. Finally, Ronan the Accuser was no more.

As soon as Ronan's body was destroyed, the energy began to go back towards us. Before we could be killed by it, however, Gamora slammed her Orb down upon it, trapping it within once more. The sparks and smoke in the air disappeared, and we were free.

My leg crumpled beneath me, and I fell to the ground. I heard the arrow in my tourniquet snap as I fell heavily to the ground, and felt blood begin to trickle slowly down my leg again.

"Great ... " I panted, my vision going dark around the edges. "We won ... "

"Solo?" I heard Rocket say. "Oh, shit! No! _SOMEONE GET A FUCKING MEDIC!"_

_"Oh, not this shit again," _was my last thought before I slipped into total unconsciousness.

* * *

Rocket sighed sadly to himself, drumming his fingers against his leg. He has been sitting at Solo's bedside ever since she'd come out of surgery, which had been a few hours now. The doctor had said that it would take a while for the anasthesia to completely wear off, and that there was no point in waiting around, but he'd stayed put anyway. He wanted to be absolutely sure he was there when she woke up. To make sure she wasn't alone.

It had been a hectic few days. Just after Solo had collapsed, she'd been taken by a few Xandar citizens and taken over to the hospital with all the other casulaties. They'd managed to stop the bleeding in time, thank God. She hadn't been the only one who needed hospitalisation; Quill had lost a pretty big chunk of his face, Gamora had a broken wrist and badly bruised ribs, and Solo and Gamora's sister - Scarlett, he was pretty sure her name was - had flipped her shit upon regaining consciousness and had had to be knocked out with laughing gas to get the mind control chip removed from her brain.

Once he knew his friends were OK, he and Drax had gone back to the scene of the crash to scavenge what they could of their belongings. But as soon as Rocket laid eyes on the pile of twigs that were once his best friend, he'd completely broken down into hysterical sobs. Surprisingly, Drax had comforted him, simply keeping him company as he cried until he had no tears left in him. He still wasn't exactly close with the guy, but he could at least call him a friend now.

He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice Solo was awake until he heard her speak. "Fucknuts, my head hurts."

He looked up sharply to see Solo struggling to prop herself up on one elbow and rubbing her temple. She looked up at him sleepily and smiled a little. "Hey, Rocky," she said, "Good to see you."

He smiled back in spite of himself. "You too," he replied, leaning forward in his seat and giving her a hug. She hugged him back fiercely.

"So, what happened?" she asked once they'd broken apart.

"Well, you collapsed just after we killed Ronan," Rocket said, leaning back in his chair. He found that he was still holding her hand, but he didn't much feel like letting go. "I mean, holding the Stone kinda fucked all of us up a little, but you were especially bad, because you were more injured than the rest of us. You started bleeding again, but you got medical attention in time, thank fuck. You were in surgery this morning for your leg, actually. Are you feeling all right?"

"Yeah, I think I'm good," she said, leaning back in bed. "I mean, I still feel kinda woozy and sick, but I'll be fine. Is ... everyone else OK?"

"Yeah," Rocket replied. "Quill needed some stitches, Gamora hurt her arm pretty bad and your sister needed to get that thingy removed from her head, but everyone's pretty much good as new by now." He'd hoped she wouldn't notice that he'd deliberately excluded Groot. He hoped in vain.

"And ... Groot?" The look she gave him was almost pleading, she wanted so desperately for him to tell her that Groot was OK too. And he wanted to tell her that, wanted it to be true as well more than anything, but he knew he couldn't do that. After a long, horrible pause, he reached down beside the bed and picked up what he hadn't wanted her to see. A flower pot with a single twig stuck in it.

"This was the biggest piece of him we could find," he said softly, hoping he wouldn't start crying again. He couldn't cry in front of her, not when she needed him.

Slowly, Solo took the flower pot from him and put it in her lap. She stared at it for a long moment, clutching it like it was her life line, her bottom lip trembling. And without warning, she suddenly wrapped her arms around the flower pot and began to cry.

Rocket was startled, to say the least. In the ten years he had known Solo, he'd never once seen her cry. Not when she was first arrested with them at thirteen, not when she'd almost died in that explosion when she was fourteen, not even when they'd gone on a visit to the remains of her home planet the year before. When he'd asked her why she never did, she'd simply replied with "Crying doesn't solve your problems" and left it at that. To see her break down like this was one of the most jarring things he'd ever seen. These weren't simple tears either - these were the full-on, heartbroken sobs of someone who'd had more happen to them than they could bear.

Seeing her cry like this over the remains of their best friend made him want to curl up and cry too.

But he wouldn't.

Instead, he got off his chair and climbed up onto the bed beside her. He gently put his arms around her and stroked her back, whispering comforting nonsense into her ear. "Shh, shh," he said, "It's OK, it's OK. I'm here. It's all gonna be OK." Which was a filthy lie. It was not going to be OK. It probably never would again. Losing Groot was like losing a part of himself; and in a way, it was. He may have ridiculed him, chastised him and called him every name under the sun, but he still loved him and cared for him more than he had anyone else, with the possible exception of Solo.

"I - didn't even get to - s-say g-goodbye!" Solo stuttered out, choking on her own tears as she rocked back and forth, hugging the flower pot close to her chest. "I didn't even know that he was - that he was gonna - " The rest of her sentence was incomprehensible as she pressed her face into his chest.

"It's OK," Rocket continued to whisper, still rubbing her back. "It's OK."

Eventually, Solo's grip on the flower pot slackened. Rocket took the hint and gently removed it from her hands, placing it on the bedside table behind him. Solo clung to him, pressing her face into his shoulder and continuing to cry. He began stroking her hair in the same way Drax had done to comfort him and stopped talking, opting instead to let her cry until she couldn't anymore. Eventually, the sobs were replaced with small, dry, choked-up cries. She pulled her face out of his shoulder, sniffing and coughing. As gently as he possibly could, he wiped the tears from her face and then reached behind him for the tissue box on the bedside table so she could clean herself up properly.

However, he stopped suddenly as a tiny, high-pitched and adorable voice said from behind him some oh-so-familiar words.

"I am Groot?"

Rocket and Solo both slowly turned around, only to be met with the shiny black eyes and bright, innocent smile they both knew so well. Somehow, _incredibly, _this little twig had started to grow back into Groot.

"I am Groot?" the little Groot repeated, an anxious look on his face. Of course, he wanted to know why they were so upset. Did he even realise what had happened to him? Did he remember dying?

Rocket didn't care. All he cared about right now was the fact that he had his best friend back.

Apparently Solo thought the same thing, for she picked the flower pot up and hugged it tightly, a huge smile spreading across her face. She then extended her arm and pulled Rocket in for the hug as well. Normally he would have protested, but right now, he didn't mind being cuddled. He didn't mind at all.

However, the group hug was ended abruptly as Solo pulled away from Rocket. She handed Groot to him, her brow furrowed.

"Rocket," she said slowly, "You said that I needed surgery. What did I need it for?"

He didn't answer. He didn't know how. He'd hoped he wouldn't even have to answer these questions; he'd hoped the doctor would do it for him. But no such luck.

"Rocket, _why can't I feel my leg?!"_

Rocket sighed, knowing that there could be no beating around the bush with this one. There was only one way of telling her. He got back into his chair, grabbed the thick blankets that covered Solo's bottom half and pulled them off.

The right leg looked normal. Skinny, muscular, purple, with a few scars here and there, some new, some not. But the left leg? Well, the problem with the left one was that there _was no left one. _Just a bandaged white stump poking out of the outsize hospital gown.

Solo inhaled sharply. It appeared that she was at a complete loss for words. Rocket couldn't blame her. "Well," she finally said, "That explains it."

"Yeah, well, they had to tie another tourniquet to stop the bleeding," Rocket explained. "I mean, you almost bled out, right there in the hospital. It was terrifying. But the doctors managed to get to you in time. By the time they were able to operate on you, though, your leg was pretty much dead. They had to cut it off. But don't worry," he said, reaching under the bed once again and grabbing the plans he'd made. "I'm not gonna let you hop around on crutches for the rest of your life. I'm makin' you a prosthetic. Here's some prototype sketches."

She took the papers from him and looked at them. Once she'd read through the first one, she gave a small smirk. "Interesting," she said, an obvious snicker in her tone. "But, uh, why exactly am I going to need rocket launchers and machine guns in my leg?"

"Because it's cool?" Rocket replied.

Solo snorted. "Touche, Rocky."

"Hey, what did I say about calling me that?!"

"That it's adorable and you want me to call you that for the rest of eternity?" She gave an exaggerated pout. "You know that I love to bug you. It's my favourite hobby."

Rocket rolled his eyes. "You're such a fucking dork," he said.

"Hey, you know you love me anyway," she teased, poking her tongue out at him.

He shrugged. "Well, you got me there," he said. He might have been wrong, but he could've sworn that she blushed at that. She rubbed the back of her neck and smiled awkwardly. He'd never really noticed how ... well, cute her smile was. Solo wasn't exactly what one would call pretty, but damn, with her adorably messy pixie cut and her lopsided grin and her green eyes that always lit up whenever she was happy or excited, she was undeniably one cute little shit.

"Rocket," she said, "Listen. There's something I need to tell you - "

Her sentence was cut off as the curtain around the bed was thrown back, revealing a messy and disheveled Scarlett.

"You're awake!" she cried out, throwing her arms around her younger sister's neck. "Finally! Gamora and I were waiting for _hours! _Oh, I'm so happy that you're OK!"

"Yeah, I'm great!" Solo said in a strained voice. "Uh, Scar, you're choking me. You're choking me!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Scarlett said sheepishly, releasing her grip. "I sometimes forget my own strength. You do know about, uh ... "

"My leg being amputated?" Solo asked. "Yeah, I noticed. But I'm fine, Scar. Really."

"I am Groot!" Groot suddenly piped up. Startled, Scarlett glanced over at him, then raised her eyebrows in confusion. "Uh, what - "

"We don't know either," Rocket interrupted. "And we don't care. Honestly, we're just glad he's not dead still."

Scarlett nodded, still looking somewhat confused, but she decided to drop it for the time being. "Anyway, I came here to tell you both that Nova Prime wants to speak with us as soon as possible. Here's some clothes for you," she said to Solo, dropping a blue Nova outfit onto the bed. "Just change into this and we can go."

"All right," said Rocket, getting up from his chair and picking up Groot and the sketches he'd made. "I'll take Groot and go meet up with the others. I'll see you two in a few minutes?"

"See you then," Scarlett said, already helping Solo sit up in bed.

"Bye," Solo said, waving to him as he went off. He couldn't help but wonder what she'd wanted to say to him.

**_Welp, there we go. I tried to make this chapter as emotional and feelsy as possible, but I couldn't resist throwing in a bit of lighthearted fluff in at the end. Epilogue will be here VERY SOON! Hopefully ... If I can be bothered to get up off my lazy arse and write, that is. If you have any constructive feedback, please feel free to share it, yadda yadda yadda. Anyway, thank you guys so much for reading this chapter. If you liked it, punch the review button in the face, LIKE A BOSS! And, high-fives all 'round! *whapish-whapish* But thank you guys, and I will see all you dudes, IN THE NEXT CHAPTEEEEER! (If you get that reference, you're my new best friend. If you don't, then you probably think that I'm a complete weirdo, but whatever)._**


End file.
